Venezuela's Gonzalez plans to return to take over as president

Venezuela's opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez said on Tuesday he was convinced he would return from Spain to his country in time to be sworn in as president on Jan. 10.

"You don't go to war with fear, which is why I'm convinced I will somehow travel to Venezuela to take over," Gonzalez told an event in Madrid, where he has been living in exile since Sept. 8.

Gonzalez has an open arrest warrant against him for alleged conspiracy and other crimes, after President Nicolas Maduro said the opposition was trying to topple him in a coup.

The opposition insist Gonzalez was the real winner of a July election awarded to Maduro.

Gonzalez's vice-presidential pick, Maria Corina Machado, who remains at an undisclosed location in Venezuela, took part in the event through a video link, saying: "Tremendously challenging and dangerous times lie ahead".