Former Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González has fled into exile after being granted asylum in Spain, delivering a major blow to millions who placed their hopes in his upstart campaign to end two decades of single-party rule.

Edmundo González, who the U.S. and other democracies said won the July presidential election against strongman Nicolás Maduro, fled the country to seek political asylum in Spain.

Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez has left the country en route to Spain, according to his lawyer and Venezuela’s vice president, after an arrest warrant was issued last week accusing him of terrorism,