Venezuela opposition leader says he was forced to sign letter accepting Maduro victory

Venezuela’s opposition candidate Edmundo González has said he was coerced into signing a letter recognizing Nicolás Maduro as the winner of the country’s disputed election as a condition for letting him flee to Spain.

He said Maduro allies brought him the document when he was in the Spanish embassy in Caracas before fleeing to Spain to request asylum, following the 28 July presidential election that the opposition insists he won.

The document states it was meant to be confidential, but head of the national assembly and Maduro’s chief negotiator presented it during a nationally televised press conference hours after a local news outlet published parts of it.