The government of President Nicolás Maduro says he did not. The stakes for Friday’s swearing-in of the man who will govern Venezuela for the next six years have never been higher in this century. González had never imagined he would be carrying the weight of the main opposition faction,

(Reuters) -Venezuela opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez, who says he resoundingly won a July presidential election but has been living in Spain after a warrant was issued for his arrest, said on Thursday he will travel to Argentina this weekend.

As Venezuela’s strongman leader prepares to be sworn in as president, the country’s opposition vows to fight on.