Venezuela judge issues arrest warrant for opposition leader after disputed election

Edmundo Gonzalez, widely believed to have beaten President Nicolas Maduro in the election, faces arrest for alleged crimes carrying long sentences if convicted

A Venezuelan judge on Monday issued an arrest warrant for Edmundo Gonzalez, the opposition politician widely believed to have beaten President Nicolas Maduro in the recent election, for alleged crimes that could see him spend the rest of his life behind bars if convicted.

Gonzalez, a 75-year-old retired diplomat, was catapulted into the eye of Venezuela's political storm earlier this year when he agreed to challenge Maduro in the 28 July presidential election in the place of the banned opposition leader Maria Corina Machado.