My departure from Caracas was surrounded by pressure, coercion and threats, said González in a video message, a couple of hours after landing at a military airfield near Madrid.
I am confident that we will soon continue our struggle to achieve our freedom and the restoration of Venezuela's democracy.
Venezuela has been plunged into a political crisis after the presidential election in July, which both the opposition and the incumbent President Nicolás Maduro claim to have won. The EU, the USA, the UN, and several of Venezuela's neighboring countries have questioned Maduro's victory claims since the election data has not been fully disclosed.
Edmundo González had been living in hiding, but fled to Spain over the weekend with his wife.
Several world leaders reiterated their support for the opposition in connection with the flight to Spain.
"The EU will maintain its support for the Venezuelan people in their striving for democracy", promises the EU's Foreign Minister Josep Borrell in a statement.
Both Borrell and the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken refer to González as "the clear winner of the election".
"His flight from Venezuela is the direct result of the anti-democratic measures that Nicolás Maduro has unleashed against the Venezuelan people", comments Blinken early on Monday.
