NEW YORK TIMES
Venezuela’s opposition leader, Edmundo González, said in a video address from exile on Wednesday that the country’s autocratic government had forced him to sign a letter recognizing President Nicolás Maduro as the winner of the disputed July election.
Mr. González said that he signed the document just before fleeing to Spain this month and that he was told by high-ranking Venezuelan officials that his signature was required if he wanted to leave the country.
While the letter holds no legal weight outside Venezuela, it is seen as part of an effort by the government of Mr. Maduro to paint Mr. González as a weak leader ready to abandon his country and principles to save himself. The government has used similar narratives to insult other opposition leaders, including Leopoldo López, now in Spain, and Juan Guaidó, now in the United States, calling them cowards for fleeing.
Analysts and opposition activists say the tactic is part of a larger pattern in Venezuela in which the government coerces members of the opposition to make statements that incriminate them or undermine their movement. In recent months, the authorities have detained lesser-known activists who have then appeared in video confessions published by the government, often claiming to have plotted against Mr. Maduro.
On Wednesday morning, a local news outlet reported that while in Venezuela, Mr. González had signed a document recognizing a Supreme Court ruling from last month that affirmed Mr. Maduro’s victory in the July 28 election.
Hours later, in a video address from Spain, Mr. González said that the letter was “absolutely null” and he had signed it under duress. He described “very intense hours of coercion, blackmail and pressure” that led him to sign the document.
He described hiding out in the Spanish diplomatic residence in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, early this month when two key figures in Mr. Maduro’s government, Jorge and Delcy Rodríguez, entered and demanded that he sign the document. “Either I signed or I faced the consequence,” Mr. González said. Mr. Rodríguez is head of the legislature, and Ms. Rodríguez, his sister, is the vice president.
Around the same time, Mr. Rodríguez held a news conference in which he presented the letter signed by Mr. González and said that he would release audio of their meeting in Caracas, which he has not done.
Mr. Maduro and Mr. González ran against each other in the presidential vote. The country’s national electoral council declared Mr. Maduro the winner but did not publish vote tallies, prompting widespread allegations of fraud. Vote tallies published by the opposition indicated that Mr. González had won nearly 70 percent of the vote.
Early this month, Mr. Maduro’s attorney general issued a warrant for Mr. González’s arrest, accusing him of conspiracy and other crimes. Mr. González had been in hiding, first in the Dutch diplomatic residence in Caracas and then in the Spanish diplomatic residence there.
In the video address, Mr. González described his decision to flee, saying he had come to the conclusion that he would be “more useful” to the country living freely in exile than in hiding in Venezuela.
This week, the United Nations Human Rights Council issued a report accusing the government of grave human rights violations before and after the election, including unlawful detentions and torture in detention centers. The International Criminal Court is also investigating Mr. Maduro for crimes against humanity.
The United States maintained a dialogue with the Maduro government last year to get him to hold competitive elections and recognize the result.
Last week, a senior U.S. administration official said in an interview that contact between Washington and Caracas had been very minimal since July 28 and there were no plans to resume talks.
The United States has recognized Mr. González as the winner. On Thursday, the European Union Parliament also recognized him as the victor. But the decision holds little weight and does not necessarily reflect the stance of individual E.U. countries.
Mr. Maduro’s socialist-inspired movement has held power since 1999. In January, he is set to begin another six-year term.
Geoff Ramsey, a senior fellow for Venezuela at the Atlantic Council, said it was clear that the letter signed by Mr. González was meant to discredit his movement and make it appear as if another effort to unseat Mr. Maduro had failed.
But Mr. Ramsey did not know if it would work, given that Mr. González’s most important ally, the former legislator María Corina Machado, remained in Venezuela.
Ms. Machado won an opposition primary last year by a landslide and has managed to unite much of the country around a call for government change. After the government disqualified her from running, Mr. González stepped in as her surrogate.
“Machado remains in the country,” Mr. Ramsey said, “and remains incredibly popular.”
