Venezuelan authorities announced Thursday (2 December) they are offering $100,000 for information leading to the capture of exiled opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia, who insists he beat President Nicolás Maduro at the polls.
Police published on social media a photo of the previously little-known ex-diplomat with the word “wanted” under the image.
Le Venezuela offre 100 000 dollars pour capturer Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, attendu en Argentine
➡️ https://t.co/TFatEt2MUv pic.twitter.com/e4YKfo8VLB— FRANCE 24 Français (@France24_fr)
He fled to Spain in September after Maduro claimed victory in the 28 July election and cracked down hard on dissent.
González Urrutia, 75, vowed to return to his troubled, economically distressed country to be sworn in as president on January 10 instead of Maduro, who is due to take the oath of office that day.
Judicial officials told AFP that the wanted poster with Gonzalez Urrutia’s face would be displayed at airports and police checkpoints around the country.
Spain granted González Urrutia asylum on 20 December after Venezuela announced charges of conspiracy and racketeering against him.
Venezuela declared Maduro the winner of a third six-year term in the July vote but the opposition cried foul, saying it has detailed polling station numbers that show Gonzalez Urrutia won handily.
The government has resisted intense pressure at home and abroad to release vote results that prove its claim of victory.
Street protests erupted after the election and degenerated into clashes with police, with 28 people dead, 200 injured and more than 2,400 arrested.
Three detainees died in prison, and nearly 1,400 of those originally arrested have been released.
Maduro is a former bus driver hand-picked by the late socialist icon Hugo Chaves to succeed him upon his death in 2013.
Maduro has overseen the oil-rich country’s decline into economic ruin and been accused of acting like a harsh left wing dictator as he cracks down on dissent and clings to power.
Only a handful of countries, including Venezuelan ally Russia, have recognized Maduro as the winner of the July election.
The United States and the European Parliament have recognized González Urrutia as “president-elect.”
In October 2024 the European Parliament announced Venezuelan opposition leaders María Corina Machado and Edmundo González Urrutia as joint winners of this year’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, the EU’s highest human rights award.
(Edited by Georgi Gotev)
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