Venezuelan VP: Opposition candidate Gonzalez leaves country as diplomatic tensions rise

Venezuela's former presidential opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez has left the country, the vice president said on Saturday night after a day of rising diplomatic tensions.

Gonzalez, 75, who ran against President Nicolas Maduro in July, left after "voluntarily seeking refuge in the Spanish embassy in Caracas several days ago," Vice President Delcy Rodriguez posted on Instagram.

Venezuela on Saturday revoked Brazil's authorization to represent Argentine interests in the country, including administering the embassy where six opposition figures are sheltering, the Venezuelan government said.

Venezuela broke relations with Argentina following its disputed July 28 presidential election. Brazil, like Colombia and Mexico, has asked the Venezuelan government to publish the full results of the vote.

The government has not done so, and the country's electoral authority said Maduro won re-election for a third term.

In a statement, Venezuela said the decision, effective immediately, and was due to proof that the embassy was being used to plan assassination attempts against Maduro and Rodriguez.

Brazil said it had received the communication that its authorization had been revoked "with surprise." Argentina said it rejected the "unilateral" decision. Both countries urged Maduro to respect the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

"Any attempt to invade or kidnap asylum seekers who remain in our official residence will be harshly condemned by the international community," Argentina said in a statement. "Actions like these reinforce the conviction that in Maduro's Venezuela, fundamental human rights are not respected."

A Brazilian diplomatic source said on Saturday afternoon that Venezuela had assured Brazil it would not invade the embassy. Brazilian newspaper Globo also reported that, without naming sources.

In its statement, Brazil insisted it would remain in custody and defense of Argentine interests until Argentina indicated another state acceptable to Venezuela to do so.

"The Brazilian government highlights in this context, under the terms of the Vienna Conventions, the inviolability of the facilities of the Argentine diplomatic mission," it said, adding that it housed six Venezuelan asylum seekers, assets, and archives.

Reuters