Venezuela's former presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez said on Friday he sought diplomatic refuge after being told President Nicolas Maduro's security forces were coming for him. Gonzalez, whom the opposition insist was the real winner of a July election awarded to Maduro,

Edmundo González said the government made him sign a document recognizing President Nicolás Maduro as the election winner before he could flee to Spain.

The revelation of the letter is the latest strain to the country's political crisis, which was exacerbated by the disputed election results and Edmundo González's recent departure for exile in Spain.