Former Venezuelan opposition candidate claims he was forced to sign letter admitting defeat

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Former Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo González said Wednesday he was forced to sign a letter effectively acknowledging his defeat in the July presidential election, which electoral authorities said was won by President Nicolás Maduro.

The revelation of the letter is the latest source of tension in the country’s political crisis, which has been exacerbated by disputed election results and González’s recent departure into exile in SpainGonzález and the United Platform coalition he represented on July 28 claim to have defeated Maduro by a wide margin.

The document, which was supposed to remain confidential, was presented by Jorge Rodríguez, president of the National Assembly and Maduro’s chief negotiator, in a televised press conference hours after a local media outlet published excerpts of it. The letter lists González as the sender and is addressed to Rodriguez, who signed it as the recipient.

Rodriguez told reporters that Gonzalez signed the letter of his own free will. Gonzalez, however, said in a video posted on social media he signed it under duress.

“They came with a document that I had to sign in order to leave the country,” González said. “That is, either I signed or I would have the consequences. There were very tense hours of coercion, blackmail and pressure.”

Asked 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 includes many Maduro supporters, declared Maduro the winner of the election hours after polls closed. Unlike in previous presidential elections, electoral authorities did not provide a detailed vote count.

But The opposition coalition collected tally sheets The voting results were collected from 80% of the country’s electronic voting machines and published online. González and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said the voting records showed the former diplomat won the election with twice as many votes as Maduro.

González was later the subject of an arrest warrant following an investigation into the publication of the tally sheets.

International condemnation of the lack of transparency prompted Maduro to ask Venezuela’s Supreme Court of Justice, whose members are close to the ruling party, to audit the results. The High Court reaffirmed its victory.

González, Machado, other opposition leaders and Foreign governments have questioned the audit’s findings. However, in the letter made public on Wednesday, González admitted that although he does not agree with the court’s decision, “I respect it because it is a resolution of the highest court of the Republic.”

In his video message, however, he presented himself as 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.