Venezuela announces criminal investigation against opposition leaders
Kyiv • UNN
Venezuela's chief prosecutor announced a criminal investigation against opposition leaders Gonzalez and Machado. They are accused of calling on the armed forces to withdraw their support for Maduro after the disputed election.
Venezuela's chief prosecutor has announced the launch of a criminal investigation against opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado in connection with their call for the armed forces to withdraw their support for Nicolas Maduro, who declared himself president. UNN writes about this with reference to the Associated Press.
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In a statement, Prosecutor General Tarek William Saab said that opposition members "falsely announced a winner of the presidential election other than the one declared by the National Electoral Council, the only body authorized to do so," and that they openly incited "police and military personnel to disobey the law.
He believes that the opposition's appeal indicates the possible commission of such crimes as usurpation of functions, dissemination of false information for the purpose of intimidation and conspiracy.
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Gonzalez and Machado called on the armed forces to reconsider their loyalty to Maduro. In their message, they called on Venezuelans with family members serving in the security forces to urge their loved ones not to attack protesters or obey illegal orders. They stated that they would provide "guarantees" to soldiers who would abide by the constitution, and promised that those behind the abuses and those who carry out illegal orders would not go unpunished.
The authorities declared Maduro the winner of last Sunday's election, but have yet to release the vote results to prove his victory. The opposition claims to have collected data from more than 80% of the 30,000 polling booths across the country that indicate its victory.
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On Saturday, Maduro announced that the government had arrested 2,000 opposition activists, and at a rally in Caracas promised to detain more people and send them to prison. According to the Caracas-based human rights group Foro Penal, the post-election uprising has also claimed at least 11 lives .
Both González, a former diplomat, and Machado, who was banned by the government from running for office, went into hidingsaying they feared they would be arrested or killed. Maduro and his supporters have threatened to imprison them both.
While Venezuelans are fighting Maduro in the streets, international pressure is also growing on the Venezuelan government to publish full information about the election results.