Reuters and AFP
The newspaper La Jornada
Tuesday, September 3, 2024, p. 23
Caracas. A Venezuelan court has issued an arrest warrant against former opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González Urrutia, the Public Prosecutor’s Office announced yesterday on its Instagram account, where it posted a photo with the court’s communication.
The prosecution had earlier requested an arrest warrant for González, 75, who failed to appear at three summons before the Public Prosecutor’s Office for publishing electoral data on a website web, which the authorities consider a usurpation of functions.
The prosecution’s request is also for the alleged commission of the crimes of forging public documents, instigation to disobedience of laws, conspiracy, sabotage of systems and association, the prosecution detailed in the request letter to a court for terrorism crimes published on its Instagram account.
The prosecution announced the first summons to González almost two weeks ago, and in his absence issued a second summons, which the former diplomat also did not attend.
The third date was on Friday, when the country suffered a nationwide power outage. Under Venezuelan law, people over 70 do not go to prison.
This man has the nerve to say no, he does not recognise laws, he does not recognise anything. What is that? That is unacceptable. Citizens agree that laws should work and that public authorities should do their job.President Nicolás Maduro said on state television regarding González’s failure to appear before the prosecutor.
The government blames the opposition for the protests and calls the demonstrators extremistsHe also blames the opposition for the failures in the electrical system.
González’s team – married with two daughters, one of whom lives outside the country – said they are awaiting notification, but did not make any further comments.
Earlier this month, prosecutors began an investigation into opposition leader María Corina Machado ya González for publishing a public letter addressed to military and police officers.
Attorney General Tarek Saab announced on August 7 that he would investigate those responsible for the opposition website that published documents from the presidential election.
Maduro was declared the winner of the presidential election by the National Electoral Council (CNE), while the opposition sector led by Machado maintains that González Urrutia won.
In another matter, the United States announced that it seized a Maduro plane in the Dominican Republic and moved it to Florida, arguing that it violated the sanctions imposed on the South American country, which in turn described this action as piracy.
The Dassault Falcon 900EX jet, registration T7-ESPRT, flew from Santo Domingo to Fort Lauderdale yesterday, according to the aircraft tracking website Flight Radar 24.
The Department of Justice seized an aircraft that was illegally acquired for $13 million through a shell company and was smuggled out of the United States for use by Nicolás Maduro and his croniesAttorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
Authorities say the transaction violates U.S. sanctions, which were tightened in 2019 following Maduro’s first re-election the previous year. More recently, Washington also refused to recognize the results of the elections that gave him a third term on July 28.
“This is not an isolated action,” protested Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil. “It is part of an escalation of actions” against the Maduro government.
The authorities of the United States of America, in a repeated criminal practice that cannot be described as anything other than piracy, have illegally confiscated an aircraft that has been used by the President of the Republic.the text continued.
The plane was used by Maduro when he traveled to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines last December for a meeting on the border conflict with Guyana, and days later, when Alex Saab was released, in a prisoner exchange with the United States.
Dominican Foreign Minister Roberto Alvarez said the Dassault Falcon 900EX was in Santo Domingo for maintenance when authorities received a court order to immobilize the aircraft in question. Neither the Dominican government nor the Public Prosecutor’s Office have participated in the investigation process.
Venezuela accused the Dominican authorities of being accomplices of the criminal acts from the United States.
This action reveals that no State and no constitutional government is safe from illegal actions that ignore international law.accused the Bolivarian government.