Venezuela has put a reward of $100,000 (£81,000) on the head of the opposition’s former presidential candidate Edmundo González for information leading to his arrest. He fled in September after Venezuela’s authorities ordered his arrest, claiming conspiracy and document forgery, for which he was granted political asylum in Spain.
González had promised to return to Venezuela before Maduro is formally inaugurated next Friday, accusing Maduro of election robbery. Shortly after the reward was announced, González said he was travelling to Argentina to begin a tour of Latin America. On Saturday, he will meet fierce Maduro critic President Javier Milei.
The voting tallies – a detailed official breakdown of the votes from each polling station – have been at the centre of the dispute over who won the election. The government-aligned National Electoral Council (CNE) declared the incumbent, Maduro, the winner but did not provide the voting tallies to support its claim.
The opposition, which collected and published more than 80% of the voting tallies with the help of accredited election witnesses, says these prove that its candidate, González, was the overwhelming winner. Not widely known in Venezuela, González registered to run in that country’s presidential election in March.
He never ran for public office and wasn’t even a name within opposition circles. Months after deciding to run for the presidency, the low-profile former diplomat became ahead of Maduro in the opinion polls. Divisions between government supporters and the opposition have grown increasingly entrenched in Venezuela over the last decade or so.
González’s campaign speech was notable for its reconciliatory tone compared to the combative posturing of his rival, Maduro, who claimed there would be a “bloodbath” should González succeed.
