It was yet another dark day for Venezuelans in and out of the country as we learned that Edmundo Gonzalez, president-elect, fled to Madrid after dictator Nicolas Maduro demanded his imprisonment.

Undoubtedly, this is a moral hit for those of us anxiously awaiting a democratic resolution to the Venezuelan tragedy.

The reality, though, is that we knew going to elections in Venezuela under the circumstances (aka a narco-dictatorship) was a long shot. But it was the only path forward that the international community supports. And the international community is all the opposition has.

The US government freed chavista drug traffickers (Maduro’s nephews) and money launderers (Alex Saab, accused of stealing billions from the Venezuelan state) in exchange of free elections. Now, however they abandon Maria Corina Machado and Edmundo Gonzalez as they face Maduro’s corrupt courts and judges. I don’t blame MCM or Gonzalez. They did all they could institutionally do and they don’t have guns.

Can we blame the US? To an extent - In today’s world, the US cannot do more than issue statements or sanction. Unlike Maduro’s allies (Russia, Iran, China), the US has to follow international rule and law.

But they do have some blame, as they forced the opposition into elections with a bravado, with Biden officials behind closed doors claiming they had fixed the Venezuela problem by negotiating with the kidnappers.

Anyone who has followed the chavista regime for years could have told you the kidnapper was not gonna let go of the victim. It is what it is.

Edmundo had two choices, as every other major chavista opponent has had over the last 20 years: prison or exile. Maybe if he had chosen prison, Venezuelans would have gone out to protest en masse, and Maduro would’ve killed more protesters. That has happened before, like with Leopoldo Lopez. But this has never gotten Venezuela closer to freedom. Instead, prison time has burned former heroes like Lopez, who are forced to negotiate and stain their image to survive and eventually escape prison.

Moreover, the protests eventually cool off because, again, protesters, like opposition leaders, have no guns.

Now many have criticized Edmundo for staying quiet following his electoral wins. One of the best things the opposition did this time around is have the figure of Edmundo and making sure he remained clean of any possible accusation by the regime. (Incitement of violence, etc). The regime charged him anyway. But I think he hasn’t said much because his role is merely the institutional one. The rest of the fight goes to Maria Corina Machado, military, and Venezuelans. We’re still missing the military sadly.

Still, the true opposition leader, MCM, is still to make her final moves. She has yet refrained from calling people to the streets. She hasn’t done it yet because she knows enough Venezuelans have already died in protests, and in vain. Whether she uses her political capital for one more protest movement remains to be seen. If she does, she will surely be forced to choose between prison and exile, too.

Sadly, in the end, Venezuela is another example of a modern regime that’s extremely hard to overthrow because they don’t play by the rules. They kill, jail and exile. Democratic countries that support the opposition can merely issue statements and sanction. The two sides are playing in under completely different rules.

One would at least expect that now the First World Dialoguing Think Tanks for Venezuela would at least remove themselves from the conversation and stop promoting elections. This will never happen because it’s how they make money.

In the past they’ve blamed opposition leaders for daring call for protests after frauds. But Edmundo hasn’t said a word. He just dared win the election. Who will they blame now?