Venezuela issues arrest warrant for opposition leader Edmundo González

Venezuela’s attorney general’s office said Monday (02) that a court issued an arrest warrant for opposition leader Edmundo González, accusing him of incitement and other crimes related to the dispute over the outcome of the July election, in which he and President Nicolás Maduro claim victory.

Attorney General Tarek Saab released a photo of the warrant to Reuters in a Telegram message.

Venezuela’s National Electoral Council and the country’s highest court declared Maduro the winner of the election with just over half the vote. However, the opposition released counts indicating a landslide victory for González.

The opposition, along with some Western countries and international organizations such as a UN panel of experts, say the electoral process was not transparent and demand full disclosure of the results.

The opposition has published what it claims are copies of more than 80% of the ballot box results on a public website, while the electoral council says a cyberattack on election night prevented the full release of results.

Additionally, Tarek Saab launched criminal investigations against opposition leader María Corina Machado and the opposition vote-counting website, while arrests of opposition figures and protesters continued in the weeks after the election.

The protests resulted in at least 27 deaths and around 2,400 arrests.

Accusations

Prosecutor Luis Ernesto Duenez requested an arrest warrant against González for usurpation of functions, falsification of public documents, incitement to disobedience, conspiracy and association, crimes allegedly committed against the Venezuelan State.

A spokesman for González said they were awaiting official notification of the warrant but declined to comment further. The opposition denies any wrongdoing.

González ignored three summonses to testify about the counting website, which may have led to the warrant being issued.

Lawyers consulted by Reuters said Venezuelan law prevents people over 70 from serving sentences in regular prisons, requiring house arrest. Gonzalez turned 75 last week.