Venezuela’s opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González had a meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Thursday in Madrid, Spain. González had fled to Spain in a negotiated deal with Nicolás Maduro’s government after seeking refuge in the embassies of the Netherlands and Spain in Caracas. His departure to exile disappointed millions who supported his opposition campaign and believed he was the rightful winner of the July 28 presidential election.

Sánchez shared a video of their meeting at the Moncloa Palace gardens on social media, emphasizing Spain’s humanitarian commitment and solidarity with Venezuelans. The Spanish Parliament, on Wednesday, passed a resolution urging Sánchez’s government to recognize González as the elected president of Venezuela, although the motion is not binding. Spain also aligns with the EU in demanding that Maduro release the raw polling data before acknowledging a winner.

The European Parliament is scheduled to discuss the outcome of the Venezuelan elections in Strasbourg, France, on Tuesday. González’s arrival in Spain has strained relations between Madrid and Caracas further, leading to calls from Venezuela’s National Assembly President, Jorge Rodríguez, for the immediate severance of diplomatic and commercial ties with Spain.

Upon his arrival at a military airport near Madrid, González, who previously served as Venezuela’s ambassador in Argentina during Hugo Chávez’s presidency, traveled on a Spanish military plane. After the election, González and opposition leader María Corina Machado went into hiding as security forces detained over 2,000 individuals, mostly young protesters, who were demonstrating against Maduro’s alleged electoral fraud.

González becomes another opposition figure seeking asylum abroad due to Maduro’s crackdown. In Spain, he joins several former presidential candidates who were either jailed or faced arrests for confronting Maduro’s regime.