Venezuela opposition leader says he will return as president

MADRID

Venezuela's opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia has ruled out forming a government in exile, saying in an interview published on Monday that he will return to his country as president in January.

The 75-year-old, who the opposition insists beat Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a disputed July election, fled with his wife to Spain in September after being threatened with arrest.

Asked if he planned to head a government in exile, he told Spanish daily El Pais: "No, no... I am going to be in Venezuela."

"I left Venezuela temporarily. I knew I was going to return... and the moment is Jan. 10, the date of the inauguration," he added.

Gonzalez Urrutia said he was "confident" he will not be arrested if he returns and would not announce the date of his arrival so the authorities in Venezuela will not be able to prevent him from entering the country.

Maduro insists he won the election even though the opposition says it can provide proof that he lost decisively.

The United States has recognized Gonzalez Urrutia's claim to victory but Spain and other European Union nations have only refused to accept that Maduro won and called on the Venezuelan government to release voting tally sheets.

Maduro is accused of leading a harshly repressive leftist regime, with a systematic crackdown on the opposition.