Spanish PM meets Venezuelan opposition figure amid tensions

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez met Thursday with Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who fled to Madrid over the weekend requesting asylum, as tensions mounted between Caracas and its former colonial ruler.

The meeting came just hours after the head of Venezuela's parliament called for the suspension of ties with Madrid.

That came after Spanish lawmakers approved a nonbinding motion urging Sanchez's government to recognise Gonzalez Urrutia as the "legitimate winner" of the July presidential election that gave strongman Nicolas Maduro a third six-year term.

Sanchez published a video on X showing him walking in the gardens at his official residence with Gonzalez Urrutia and the opposition figure's daughter Carolina Gonzalez, who lives in Spain.

"Spain continues to work in favour of democracy, dialogue and the fundamental rights of the brotherly people of Venezuela," he posted, adding that he "warmly welcomed Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia to our country".

It was the first meeting between Sanchez and Gonzalez Urrutia, 75, since he and his wife landed in Spain on Sunday to seek political asylum.

He had been in hiding following the July 28 presidential election in Venezuela that the opposition insists he won. But Maduro claimed victory and ordered Gonzalez Urrutia's arrest.

- 'Working for unity' -

The United States on Thursday announced new sanctions against 16 Venezuelan officials, including some from the electoral authority, for impeding "a transparent electoral process" and not publishing "accurate" results.

Venezuela issued a statement shortly afterwards denouncing the sanctions as a "crime of aggression".

Gonzalez Urrutia said he thanked Sanchez at the meeting for his "interest" in the "recovery of democracy and respect for human rights in our country".

"My commitment to the mandate I have received from the sovereign people of Venezuela is unwavering," he said in a statement.

The United States has recognised Gonzalez Urrutia as the winner of the election.

So far, however, Spain and other European Union nations have limited themselves to refusing to accept Maduro as the victor and calling on the Venezuelan government to release the voting tally sheets.

"From a political point of view, the Spanish government has been clear since the elections were organised," Sanchez had said Wednesday.

"We are doing something very important: working for unity in the European Union so that we can find a way out that reflects the democratic will expressed at the ballot box by the Venezuelan people."

- 'Isolate itself' -

Madrid wants to "maintain the best relations with the Venezuelan people", government spokeswoman Pilar Alegria said earlier Thursday in response to Venezuela's threat to suspend political and economic ties with Spain.

Venezuela is home to a large community of Spanish citizens and descendants, and major Spanish firms such as oil giant Repsol, telecoms firm Telefonica and BBVA bank have a significant presence.

If Venezuela does break ties with Spain, "it would confirm that Maduro's government is willing to isolate itself from the West in order to remain in power", Mariano de Alba, a Venezuelan international politics expert, told AFP.

Spain, meanwhile, wants to avoid a suspension in ties since this would "reduce even more its capacity to influence the Maduro government at a time when the international community is looking to convince it that there must be negotiations", he added.

Venezuelan prosecutors have opened an investigation against Gonzalez Urrutia for alleged crimes related to his insistence that he was the rightful election victor.

The charges include usurpation of public functions, forgery of a public document, incitement to disobedience, sabotage and association with organised crime. He risks a prison sentence of 30 years.

The charges stem from the opposition publishing its own tally of polling station-level ballots cast, which it says showed Gonzalez Urrutia winning about two-thirds of votes.

Venezuela's electoral authority has said it cannot provide a breakdown of the election results and blamed a cyberattack on its systems.