The Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González is expected to arrive in Spain, where he will be granted political asylum.

A Spanish Air Force plane is due to land at Torrejon air base in Madrid. Mr González had departed the country at his own request, according to Spain’s Minister of Foreign Affairs José Manuel Albares.

Mr González has been in hiding, with an arrest warrant issued for him after the opposition disputed July’s presidential election result – in which the government-controlled National Electoral Council (CNE) declared Nicolás Maduro the winner.

Venezuela’s Vice-President Delcy Rodríguez said Mr González had asked the Spanish government for political asylum.

She said in a social media post that after “voluntarily” seeking refuge at the Spanish embassy in Caracas some days ago, Madrid had agreed to his safe passage.

Spanish media reported that a plane carrying Mr González had stopped off in Portugal’s Azores islands and was expected in Spain in the coming hours.

The Spanish foreign minister, José Manuel Albares said that Spain’s government was committed to the political rights of all Venezuelans and has confirmed that Mr González will be granted asylum.

The departure of the 75-year-old, who is seen by the US, the EU and several Latin American countries as the winner of the 28 July election, came a week after Venezuelan authorities issued an arrest warrant for him, accusing him of conspiracy and other crimes.

While he has departed, security forces in Venezuela have surrounded the Argentine embassy in the capital, Caracas.

Six political opponents of President Maduro are sheltering there. The country’s foreign ministry alleged that terrorist acts were being plotted inside.

Members of the Venezuelan opposition posted pictures and videos of security vehicles around the embassy complex, Reuters news agency reported.

Venezuela has been in a political crisis since authorities declared President Maduro the election’s victor.

The opposition claimed it had evidence Mr González had won by a comfortable margin, and uploaded detailed voting tallies to the internet which suggest Mr González beat Mr Maduro convincingly.

Washington, the EU and other powers in the region have refused to recognize President Maduro as the winner without Caracas releasing detailed voting data.

The European Union foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said in a statement: “Today is a sad day for democracy in Venezuela”, adding: “In a democracy, no political leader should be forced to seek asylum in another country.”

The government of President Maduro has detained more than 2,400 people since the election, creating what the UN has called “a climate of fear”.

Mr González had been in hiding since 30 July, fearing arrest following statements made by leading government politicians who said he should be “behind bars”.

The attorney general’s office, which is closely aligned with the Maduro administration, has accused Mr González of conspiracy and of forging documents, among other “serious crimes”.

Mr González had not been widely known before March this year, when the main opposition coalition registered him as its candidate.

The opposition’s original choice for presidential candidate had been the charismatic María Corina Machado, who had won an open primary with 93% of votes.

But when her efforts to overturn a ban which barred her from running for public office were rebuffed by the government-controlled authorities, the opposition had to find an alternative candidate.

After another opposition candidate was also barred, the opposition put forward Mr González’s name.

Fearing he too could be barred from running, the opposition kept Mr González in the background, while Ms Machado criss-crossed the country calling on people to vote for him.

On election night, Mr González appeared side-by-side with María Corina Machado disputing the announcement by the CNE, which had declared Mr Maduro the winner with 52% of the votes.