Jailed Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo López has gained nine pounds since he ended a 30-day hunger strike a week ago, his wife, Lilian Tintori, said on Wednesday as she appeared with former Spanish Prime Minister Felipe González, who has lobbied for López's release, the Associated Press reported.

With his hunger strike, the former mayor of Caracas' Chacao neighborhood had attempted to force President Nicolás Maduro to free opponents jailed in last year's anti-government protests and set a date for parliamentary elections that the opposition is heavily favored to win; the embattled leader has made no concessions on prisoners, but the vote is now set to be held on Dec. 6.

In Madrid, Tintori denied speculation that negotiations about her husband's release were under way in Venezuela. During her meeting with González, López's spouse -- who has become a political activist in her own right -- was accompanied by Mitzy Capriles, the wife of Caracas Mayor Antonio Ledezma, who is jailed on charges of allegedly planning to oust Maduro, El Nacional noted.

The former Spanish prime minister, who last month had unsuccessfully attempted to visit López and Ledezma, promised that he would return to Venezuela and continue his effort to free the prisoners.

"Unless (Venezuela) declares me a 'persona non grata'" according to the Vienna Convention, González said, "I have the right to move about freely (in the country)."

Tintori, for her part, had attempted to enlist the United Nations Human Rights Council in her husband's case before traveling to the Spanish capital, El Nuevo Herald recalled.

"The 75 political prisoners in Venezuela have to be set free immediately," López's wife told the Geneva, Switzerland-based body. She further explained that the announcement of the Dec. 6 vote had persuaded López and other prisoners to end their 30 day-long hunger strike, during which her spouse lost some 30 pounds.

"Now that the date is already set, what we ask is that these elections be held with international observers from the European Union, the (Union of South American Nations) and the Organization of American States," Tintori said, "so that from now on, they proceed according to the lawful electoral process."