CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s former opposition candidate Edmundo González said Wednesday he was forced to sign a letter effectively acknowledging his defeat in July’s presidential election, which electoral authorities said was won by President Nicolás Maduro.
The letter’s disclosure is the latest tension in the country’s political crisis, which was exacerbated by the disputed election results and González’s recent departure to Spain. González and the Unitary Platform coalition he represented on July 28 claim to have defeated Maduro by a wide margin.
The document says it was meant to be confidential, but Jorge Rodríguez, head of the National Assembly and Maduro’s chief negotiator, presented it at a nationally televised news conference hours after a local news outlet published portions of it. The letter lists González as the sender and is addressed to Rodriguez, who signed it as the recipient.
Rodríguez told reporters that González signed the letter of his own accord. However, González said in a video posted on social media that he signed the letter under duress.
“They came with a document that I had to sign to authorize my departure from the country,” González said. “In other words, I signed or I would suffer consequences. There were very tense hours of coercion, blackmail and pressure.”
When questioned about González’s video message, Rodríguez threatened to release the audio of his conversations with González if he did not retract his claims.
Venezuela’s National Electoral Council, which is packed with Maduro supporters, declared Maduro the winner of the election hours after polls closed. Unlike previous presidential elections, electoral authorities did not provide detailed vote counts.
But the opposition coalition collected tally sheets from 80% of the country’s electronic voting machines and posted them online. González and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said the voting data showed the former diplomat won the election with twice as many votes as Maduro.
An arrest warrant was issued for González in an investigation into the publication of the counting lists.
Global condemnation of the lack of transparency prompted Maduro to ask Venezuela’s Supreme Court, whose members are aligned with the ruling party, to audit the results. The court upheld his victory.
González, Machado, other opposition leaders and foreign governments have questioned the audit’s results. In the letter made public Wednesday, however, González admitted that he disagrees with the tribunal’s ruling but that he “will comply with it because it is a decision of the highest court of the Republic.”
In contrast, in his video message he called himself the “elected president of millions and millions of Venezuelans” and promised to “fulfill” their mandate.
Venezuela’s next presidential term begins on January 10 and lasts six years.
