Opposition presidential candidate González flees Venezuela for asylum in Spain

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Former Venezuelan presidential candidate Edmundo González arrived in Spain on Sunday after fleeing into exile in as part of a negotiated deal with Nicolás Maduro's government that dealt a major blow to millions who placed their hopes in his opposition campaign.

The surprise departure of the man considered by Venezuela’s opposition and several foreign governments to be the legitimate winner of July 28 presidential election was announced late Saturday by Venezuelan officials who just a few days ago ordered his arrest.

González landed Sunday at a military airport near Madrid, accompanied by his wife and Spanish officials. Hours later, he sent a short voice message to supporters thanking them for their support.

“My departure from Caracas was surrounded by acts of pressure, coercion and threats,” he said. “I trust that we will soon continue our fight to achieve our freedom and the restoration of Venezuela's democracy.”

Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado tried to put a positive spin on his departure, assuring Venezuelans the 75-year-old retired diplomat would be back on Jan. 10 for a swearing-in ceremony marking the start of the next presidential term.

“His life was in danger, and the increasing threats, summons, arrest warrants and even attempts at blackmail and coercion to which he has been subjected, demonstrate that the regime has no scruples,” Machado said on X. “Let this be very clear to everyone: Edmundo will fight from outside alongside our diaspora.”

But on the streets of Caracas on Sunday the mood was one of despair at the loss of someone who, against the odds, reignited a movement to end more than two decades of single party rule.

“What little hope we had left, it went with him,” said Laura Vargas, as she scrolled through the news on her cellphone while sitting on a park bench.

González joins the swelling ranks of opposition stalwarts who once fought Maduro only to throw in the towel and seek asylum abroad in the face of a brutal crackdown. In Spain, he joins at least four former presidential hopefuls who were imprisoned or faced arrest for defying Maduro's rule.

Ever since the vote, he and Machado have been in hiding as security forces rounded up more than 2,000 people, many of them young Venezuelans who spontaneously took to the streets to protest Maduro's alleged theft of the election.

Venezuelan officials have yet to comment. Vice President Delcy Rodríguez said in a statement late Saturday that the government decided to grant González safe passage out of the country to help restore “the country’s political peace and tranquility.”

Spain’s center-left government said the decision to leave Venezuela was González's alone, and he departed on a plane sent by the country's air force. González had sought refuge in the Dutch ambassador's residence in Caracas after the election, the Netherlands' government said Sunday, as he secretly negotiated his exit.

Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares told Spanish broadcaster RTVE that his government will grant González political asylum as he requested.

"Of course, I told him we were pleased that he is well and on his way to Spain, and I reiterated the commitment of our government to the political rights of all Venezuelans,” Albares said while en route to China for a state visit with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.

The European Union’s foreign affairs chief, Josep Borrell, a former Spanish foreign minister, described González's departure as “a sad day for democracy in Venezuela.”

Referring to González as the apparent winner of the presidential elections, Borrell in a statement said the ”EU will maintain its support of the Venezuelan people in their democratic aspirations.”

González was a last-minute stand-in after Machado was banned from running. Previously unknown to most Venezuelans, he nonetheless rapidly galvanized the hopes of millions of Venezuelans desperate for change after a decade-long economic free fall.

While Maduro was declared the winner of the July vote, most Western governments, including Spain, have yet to recognize his victory and are instead demanding that authorities publish a breakdown of votes. Meanwhile, tally sheets collected by opposition volunteers from over two-thirds of the electronic voting machines indicate that González won by a more than 2-to-1 margin.

The tally sheets have long been considered the ultimate proof of election results in Venezuela. In previous presidential elections, the National Electoral Council published online the results of each of the more than 30,000 voting machines, but the Maduro-controlled panel did not release any data this time, blaming an alleged cyberattack mounted by opponents from North Macedonia.

Attorney General Tarek William Saab, a staunch Maduro ally, sought González's arrest after he failed to appear three times in connection with a criminal investigation into what it considers an act of electoral sabotage.

Saab told reporters that the voting records the opposition shared online were forged and an attempt to undermine the National Electoral Council. On Wednesday, González’s attorney delivered a letter to Saab in which he seemed to distance himself from the opposition’s publication of the voting records, saying it wasn't his responsibility.

Experts from the United Nations and the Carter Center, which observed the election at the invitation of Maduro’s government, determined the results announced by electoral authorities lacked credibility. In a statement critical of the election, the U.N. experts stopped short of validating the opposition’s claim to victory, but they said the voting records it published online appear to exhibit all of the original security features.

Spain has been a major point of exodus for Venezuelans, particularly those leading opposition to Maduro’s regime. They include Leopoldo López, who fled to Spain to reunite with his family in 2020, and Antonio Ledezma, who left in 2017.

Some 44,000 Venezuelans immigrated to Spain in the first six months of this year. The last government statistics from 2022 said that some 212,000 Venezuelans lived in Spain.

“The truth is he’s more useful fighting abroad than in hiding or imprisoned,” said Gustavo Tovar-Arroyo, a human rights activist who was himself forced to flee into exile in 2012.

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Goodman reported from Miami and Wilson from Barcelona, Spain. Associated Press Writer Mike Corder contributed from The Hague, Netherlands.

Carolina, the daughter of Edmundo González, is photographed traveling inside a car as she leaves the Torrejón Air Base in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. Former Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González has fled into exile after being granted asylum in Spain, delivering a major blow to millions who placed their hopes in his upstart campaign to end two decades of single-party rule. (AP Photo/Andrea Comas)

Supporters of Edmundo González gather outside the Torrejón Air Base in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. Former Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González has fled into exile after being granted asylum in Spain, delivering a major blow to millions who placed their hopes in his upstart campaign to end two decades of single-party rule. (AP Photo/Andrea Comas)

Supporters of Edmundo González wait for his arrival outside the Torrejón Air Base in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. Former Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González has fled into exile after being granted asylum in Spain, delivering a major blow to millions who placed their hopes in his upstart campaign to end two decades of single-party rule. (AP Photo/Andrea Comas)

Supporters of Edmundo González wait for his arrival outside the Torrejón Air Base in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. Former Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González has fled into exile after being granted asylum in Spain, delivering a major blow to millions who placed their hopes in his upstart campaign to end two decades of single-party rule. (AP Photo/Andrea Comas)

Supporters of Edmundo González wait for his arrival outside the Torrejón Air Base in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. Former Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González has fled into exile after being granted asylum in Spain, delivering a major blow to millions who placed their hopes in his upstart campaign to end two decades of single-party rule. (AP Photo/Andrea Comas)

FILE - Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez waves to supporters during a political event at a square in the Hatillo municipality of Caracas, Venezuela, June 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)

Tito Jackson, one of the brothers who made up the beloved pop group the Jackson 5, has died. He was 70.

Jackson was the third of nine children, including global superstars Michael and Janet, and was part of a music-making family whose songs have sold hundreds of millions of copies.

“It’s with heavy hearts that we announce that our beloved father, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Tito Jackson is no longer with us. We are shocked, saddened and heartbroken. Our father was an incredible man who cared about everyone and their well-being,” his sons TJ, Taj and Taryll Jackson said in a statement posted on Instagram late Sunday.

The Jackson 5, among the last of the major groups launched through Berry Gordy's Motown empire, included teenage and pre-teen brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and lead singer Michael. Gordy signed them up in the late 1960s, when Motown's power was slipping and tastes were shifting from the slick pop-soul of Motown's prime to the funkier sounds of Sly and the Family Stone.

“I Want You Back,” the group's breakthrough hit, was openly modeled on Sly and the Family Stone and topped the charts in 1969. The Jacksons followed with three more No. 1 songs, "ABC," “The Love You Save" and “I’ll Be There," and also hit the top 5 with “Mama's Pearl” and “Never Can Say Goodbye."

Some called their music “bubblegum soul.”

By mid-decade, the Jackson 5's appeal was fading and the group, except Jermaine, moved to Epic and renamed themselves the Jacksons. Their latter hits included “Enjoy Yourself,” “Lovely One” and “Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)." Michael Jackson became a multi-platinum solo artist in the 1980s and his collaborations with his brothers became rare after the 1984 album “Victory."

The Jackson 5 was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, introduced at the ceremony by longtime friend Diana Ross.

Among reactions to the death was a message from the Broadway production “MJ," about Michael Jackson and his family. On X, the show called Tito Jackson “an icon of the music industry who has inspired generations of singers, musicians and performers across the world. None more so than our MJ family.” It included a photo of Tito Jackson attending the show.

Raised in Gary, Indiana, the Jackson 5 had been formed under the guidance of their father, Joe Jackson, a steelworker and guitar player. Michael and sibling La Toya would accuse him of abusive behavior. Toriano Adaryll “Tito” Jackson was the least-heard member of the group, working as a background singer who played guitar.

Michael Jackson died at age 50 on June 25, 2009. Speaking to The Associated Press in December 2009, Tito Jackson said that his younger brother's death pulled the family closer together.

“I would say definitely it brought us a step closer to each other. To recognize that the love we have for each other when one of us is not here, what a great loss,” he said, adding he would personally never “be at peace with it.”

“There’s still moments when I just can’t believe it. So I think that’s never going to go away,” he said.

In 2014, Jackson said that he and his brothers still felt Michael Jackson's absence in their shows, which continued with international tours.

“I don’t think we will ever get used to performing without him. He’s dearly missed," Jackson said, noting that his brother's spirit "is with us when we are performing. It gives us a lot of positive energy and puts a lot of smiles on our faces."

Days before his death, Jackson posted a message on his Facebook page from Germany on Sept. 11, where he visited a memorial to Michael Jackson with his brothers.

“Before our show in Munich, my brothers Jackie, Marlon, and I, visited the beautiful memorial dedicated to our beloved brother, Michael Jackson. We’re deeply grateful for this special place that honors not only his memory but also our shared legacy. Thank you for keeping his spirit alive," Jackson wrote.

Jackson was the last of the nine siblings to release a solo project with his 2016 debut, “Tito Time.” He released a song in 2017, “One Way Street,” and told the AP in 2019 that he was working on a sophomore album.

Jackson said he purposely held back from pursuing a solo career because he wanted to focus on raising his three sons, who formed their own music group, 3T. Jackson's website offers a link to a single featuring 3T and Stevie Wonder titled, “Love One Another.”

Earlier this year, Jackson settled in a house in Claremore, Oklahoma near Tulsa, Tulsa World reported. “I always wanted to get away from the West Coast and experience living somewhere with new people and new culture,” the paper quoted Jackson as saying. “California is ... different.”

Jackson had ties to the area: His uncle, Samuel Jackson, had opened Jackson Undertaking Co. in Tulsa in 1917, and when it burned down during the Tulsa Race Massacr e in 1921, Samuel Jackson was hired by a white-owned funeral home to embalm the bodies of Black residents who were killed, the paper reported. He later rebuilt his own company.

Jackson also is survived by his brothers Jermaine, Randy, Marlon and Jackie, his sisters Janet, Rebbie and La Toya, and their mother, Katherine. Their father died in 2018.

Jackson's death was first reported by Entertainment Tonight.

FILE - Pop star Michael Jackson, center, his mother Katherine Jackson, right, and brother Tito Jackson, left, leave Santa Barbara County Superior Court in Santa Maria, Calif., April 7, 2005, after another day of testimony in Michael Jackson's child molestation trial. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian, File)

FILE - From left, brothers Jackie Jackson, Tito Jackson, Jermaine Jackson and Marlon Jackson pose for a portrait together in Beverly Hills, Calif., Dec. 9, 2009. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

FILE - Singer Tito Jackson arrives at the opening night of, "Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour," in Los Angeles, Jan. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Dan Steinberg, File)

FILE - The Jackson 5, Michael Jackson, front right; Marlon Jackson, front left; Tito Jackson, back left; Jackie Jackson, back center; and Jermaine Jackson, back right; pose for this undated photo together in Los Angeles. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - Tito Jackson, a member of the famed Jackson 5, poses for a portrait in Los Angeles, July 24, 2019, to promote his solo project, a new version of his 2017 song "One Way Street." (Photo by Mark Von Holden/Invision/AP, File)