They Ran a Campaign in Hiding. Now They Wait.

Every morning they wake up and look at the mountains of Caracas. On days when protests fill the streets they can hear the chants. But they know that if they take one step outside their compound, they could be arrested and thrown in prison.

For the past five months, five top aides for the party of Venezuela’s opposition leader, María Corina Machado, have been living in an Argentine diplomatic residence where they sought asylum after the country’s attorney general announced warrants for their arrest.

And it is from this house, nestled between the diplomatic residences of Russia and North Korea, that Ms. Machado’s top aides have run one of the most consequential presidential campaigns in the country’s history.

Somehow, despite the constraints on their liberty, the five officials not only managed to help organize a voter turnout drive that brought millions of to the polls on Election Day but also mobilized thousands of monitors to collect tally sheets that could prove their candidate had won.

Their efforts helped lead the United States to recognize the opposition candidate, Edmundo González, as the winner, while many other countries have refused to recognize President Nicolás Maduro’s claim of victory.

And yet, despite all this, Mr. Maduro remains in power, and the five remain trapped inside the Argentine compound. They await official permission to leave the country.