CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado tried to reassure supporters Monday that her coalition still hopes to gain control of the presidency despite the departure into exile of their candidate Edmundo González Urrutia.
Machado's group maintains that it has evidence that González won the July 28 presidential election by a wide margin against Venezuela's authoritarian incumbent president, Nicolás Maduro, despite his claim to have won.
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CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado tried to reassure supporters Monday that her coalition still hopes to gain control of the presidency despite the departure into exile of their candidate Edmundo González Urrutia.
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)
Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado displays vote tally sheets during a protest against the reelection of President Nicolás Maduro one month after the disputed presidential vote which she says the opposition won by a landslide, in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)
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)
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)
Machado told an online meeting Monday of opposition leaders, reporters and others that her group still hopes to see Maduro leave office in January, even if for voters those hopes seem increasingly tenuous since González’s decision to flee into exile to Spain over the weekend.
She said the former diplomat could fulfill the role of opposition candidate “with much greater protection and security” from abroad. She herself has gone into hiding in the weeks since the election, while Maduro's government has arrested more than 2,000 people and cracked down on demonstrations throughout the country protesting the election results.
“Nothing has changed,” she insisted from an undisclosed location in Venezuela.
González, 75, landed Sunday at a military airport near Madrid, accompanied by his wife and Spanish officials. His departure was announced late Saturday by Venezuela’s government, which days earlier had ordered his arrest.
González had not been seen publicly since the week after the vote, when he and Machado announced not only that their campaign had obtained vote tallies from over two-thirds of the electronic voting machines used in the election but also that they had published them online to show the world that Maduro had lost the contest.
Their assertions stunned supporters and critics alike, because the National Electoral Council had declared Maduro the winner hours after polls closed, giving him a third six-year term set to begin on Jan. 10. The panel, stacked with ruling party loyalists, never released detailed vote tallies to support Maduro’s claim to victory.
González had never run for office before the presidential election. The leadership of the Unitary Platform opposition coalition chose him as candidate after the government banned Machado from running for office and did not allow her hand-picked successor to register for the contest.
Machado became his key surrogate, and they campaigned together.
González said in a statement Monday that he is not motived by “personal ambition." He wrote that he remains committed to “the realization of the popular will,” but he did not explain how he intends to continue to work toward that goal.
“My commitment is not based on personal ambition, this decision is a gesture that reaches out to everyone, and I hope that it will be reciprocated as such,” González said.
Machado told reporters that González is “Venezuela’s president-elect” regardless of his location and will remain so “until the day he is sworn in as president.” She did not offer any details of the strategy that could lead to that result.
Experts from the United Nations and the Carter Center, which at the invitation of Maduro’s government observed the election, 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 faction’s voting records published online appear to exhibit all of the original security features.
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)
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)
Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado displays vote tally sheets during a protest against the reelection of President Nicolás Maduro one month after the disputed presidential vote which she says the opposition won by a landslide, in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)
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)
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)
DEER PARK, Texas (AP) — A towering flame gradually subsided Tuesday morning in the aftermath of a massive pipeline explosion after a vehicle drove through a fence and struck an above-ground valve, officials said.
Deer Park officials said police and local FBI agents initiated investigations and found no preliminary reports that would suggest a coordinated or “terrorist” attack and that “this appears to be an isolated incident.”
The investigation included efforts to learn more about the driver of a vehicle that was incinerated by the pipeline explosion as flames scorched the ground across a wide radius, severed adjacent power transmission lines and ignited homes at a distance. Police did not provide any information about the person's condition.
An evacuation area included nearly 1,000 homes and initial shelter orders included schools.
Operators shut off the flow of natural gas liquids in the pipeline, but so much remained in the miles of tubing that firefighters could do nothing but watch and hose down adjacent homes.
Deer Park Mayor Jerry Mouton Jr. described intense heat from a fire that endured for more than 12 hours as ladder trucks showered houses from above.
"A lot of the house structures that are adjacent to that are still catching on fire even though we’re putting a lot of water on them,” Mouton said at an afternoon news conference. A spewing flame still lit up the sky at sunset Monday.
Firefighters initially were dispatched at 9:55 a.m., after an explosion at a valve station in Deer Park, adjacent to La Porte, rattled homes and businesses, including a Walmart. Deer Park officials said an SUV drove into the valve after going through a fence on the side of the Walmart parking lot.
At the news conference, officials said only one person, a firefighter, sustained a minor injury. Later, Deer Park spokesperson Kaitlyn Bluejacket said four people were injured. She didn’t provide details about the severity of the injuries.
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said in a statement that 20 miles (32 kilometers) of pipeline between the two closed valves had to burn off before the fire would stop.
Anna Lewis, who was walking into the nearby Walmart when the explosion happened, said it sounded “like a bomb went off.” She said everyone inside was rushed to the back of the store and then taken across the street to a grocery store before being bussed to a community center.
“It scared me,” she said. “You really don’t know what to do when it’s happening.”
Geselle Melina Guerra said she and her boyfriend heard the explosion as they were having breakfast in their mobile home.
“All of a sudden we hear this loud bang and then I see something bright, like orange, coming from our back door that’s outside,” said Guerra, who lives within the evacuation area.
Guerra’s boyfriend, Jairo Sanchez, said they’re used to evacuations because they live close to other plants near the highway, but he hadn’t seen an explosion before in his 10 years living there.
“We just drove as far as we could because we didn’t know what was happening,” Sanchez said.
Houston, Texas’ largest city, is the nation’s petrochemical heartland and is home to a cluster of refineries and plants and thousands of miles of pipelines. Explosions and fires are a familiar sight in the area, including some that have been deadly, raising recurring questions about the adequacy of industry efforts to protect the public and the environment.
Letting the fire burn out is better, from an environmental perspective, than trying to attack the flames with some kind of suppressing foam or liquid, said Ramanan Krishnamoorti, a petroleum engineering professor at the University of Houston.
“Otherwise it’s going to release a lot of volatile organics into the environment,” he said.
Still, there will undoubtedly be negative environmental consequences, including a release of soot, carbons and organic material, he said.
The pipeline’s owner, Dallas-based Energy Transfer, said air monitoring equipment was being set up near the plume of fire and smoke, which could be seen from at least 10 miles (16 kilometers) away at one point.
A statement from Harris County Pollution Control on Monday afternoon said no volatile organic compounds had been detected. The statement said particulate matter from the smoke was moderate and not an immediate risk to healthy people, although “sensitive populations may want to take precautions.” The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality said it was also monitoring the air.
Natural gas liquids are used primarily in the manufacturing of plastics and basic and intermediate chemicals, Krishnamoorti said.
The fire burned through nearby power lines, and the website PowerOutage.us said several thousand customers were without power at one point in Harris County.
Krishnamoorti said the area’s extensive pipeline infrastructure will have to be closely inspected for damage beyond the explosion site, though the fire “won’t be a major disrupter of supply chains.”
The Railroad Commission of Texas, which regulates oil and gas in the state, said its safety inspectors were investigating.
Margaret Newman, who lives on the edge of the evacuation zone, said that when she heard the explosion she went out into her yard and could see the flame shooting above the trees. She lost electricity but has a generator to keep her home cool and planned to stay put.
This story has been updated to correct that the pipeline carries natural gas liquids, not liquified natural gas.
AP writers Christopher L. Keller in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Valerie Gonzalez in McAllen, Texas, Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City and Jamie Stengle in Dallas contributed to this report.
Residents watch the pipeline fire burning in La Porte, Texas, from South Meadow Drive and East Meadow Drive Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Deer Park, Texas. (Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle via AP)
Firefighters respond to a pipeline fire Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Deer Park, Texas. (Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle via AP)
A Clear Lake man watches the pipeline fire burning in La Porte, Texas, as he gives a ride to his friend who is a resident on E. Meadow Drive, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Deer Park, Texas. (Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle via AP)
Meadow Way Drive residents Maddy Graham, right, and Ashley Cordova are self evacuating with cat, Mitzi, as the pipeline fire burns in the background Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Deer Park, Texas. (Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle via AP)
A massive pipeline fire burns near Spencer Highway and Summerton on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in La Porte, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)
Police block off a highway as a large fire from a pipeline explosion burns near La Porte, Texas, on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Lekan Oyekanmi)
A pipeline with a giant plume of fire burns Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in La Porte, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)
A pipeline carrying natural gas liquids burns in a massive fire near La Porte, Texas, on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Lekan Oyekanmi)
A pipeline carrying natural gas liquids burns near La Porte, Texas, on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Lekan Oyekanmi)
A pipeline carrying liquified natural gas burns near Spencer Highway and Summerton on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in La Porte, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)
Firefighters protect a neighborhood from a fire in a pipeline carrying liquified natural gas burns near Spencer Highway and Summerton on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in La Porte, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)
A pipeline carrying liquified natural gas burns near Spencer Highway and Summerton on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in La Porte, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)
A firefighter directs a line of water around a fire on a pipeline carrying liquified natural gas near Spencer Highway and Summerton on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in La Porte, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)
A pipeline carrying liquified natural gas burns near Spencer Highway and Summerton on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in La Porte, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)
A pipeline carrying liquified natural gas burns near Spencer Highway and Summerton on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in La Porte, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)
A firefighter directs a line of water around a fire on a pipeline carrying liquified natural gas near Spencer Highway and Summerton on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in La Porte, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)
Firefighters take a break from battling a fire at a pipeline carrying liquified natural gas near Spencer Highway and Summerton on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in La Porte, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)
Firefighters battle a blaze from a pipeline carrying liquified natural gas that burns near Spencer Highway and Summerton on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in La Porte, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)
A firefighter directs a line of water around a fire on a pipeline carrying liquified natural gas near Spencer Highway and Summerton on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in La Porte, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)
A firefighter directs a line of water around a fire on a pipeline carrying liquified natural gas near Spencer Highway and Summerton on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in La Porte, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)
A firefighter directs a line of water around a fire on a pipeline carrying liquified natural gas near Spencer Highway and Summerton on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in La Porte, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)
A pipeline with a giant plume of fire burns Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in La Porte, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)
A pipeline carrying liquified natural gas burns near Spencer Highway and Summerton on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in La Porte, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)
A pipeline fire in La Porte, Texas, sparks grass fires and burns power poles on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, forcing people in the surrounding neighborhood to evacuate. (KTRK via AP)
Firefighters work on the scene of a pipeline fire in La Porte, Texas, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (KTRK via AP)
A burned vehicle sits near a pipeline fire in La Porte, Texas, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (KTRK via AP)
A pipeline fire in La Porte, Texas, sparks grass fires and burns power poles on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, forcing people in the surrounding neighborhood to evacuate. (KTRK via AP)
