Nicolas Maduro He did it again. He self-proclaimed president of Venezuela During the July elections, he set the judicial machinery in motion to imprison the opposition leader, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia. This Monday, a Venezuelan court issued an arrest warrant against the former opposition candidate, forced to stand in the elections after the disqualification of Maria Corina Machado.
To his 74 years oldafter a discreet political career without no political aspirations; Edmond agreed to be the candidate of his party, United Democratic Platform (PUD). “I took it as a personal commitment to Venezuelawith the system of government and democracy,” he told the BBC. His candidacy was unexpected for him and for the rest of Venezuela. He was not a well-known personality.
Previously, he had held the ambassador post in Algeria between 1991 and 1993, and in Argentina from 1998 to 2002. In recent months he has devoted himself to attending conferences, writing academic papers, and spending time with his family (including his four grandchildren). So, at the end of April, he put aside the retirement he had been enjoying for three months to get involved in the elections. Your main goal It was to put an end to ChavismoThis is the first time in 25 years that the opposition has a real chance of winning the elections.
The alleged crimes of Edmundo González
In fact, according to data published by the training (and theory supported by many countries such as USAArgentina, Uruguay, Ecuador, Peru, Panama and Costa Rica), Edmundo won the July electionsThe publication of these figures, precisely, motivated the issuance of an arrest warrant to the anti-Chavist after he failed to respond to three summonses. The Public Prosecutor’s Office was expecting him to make statements as part of an investigation against him related to the fraud complaint he filed regarding the presidential elections.
The investigation is linked to the publication of the aforementioned website, in which the main opposition coalition – the United Democratic Platform (PUD) – claims to have put online “83.5% of electoral files” collected by witnesses and board members to strengthen their claim that González Urrutia won the elections by a landslide.
The PUD made public this report, which the Executive describes as “false”, after the National Electoral Council (CNE) declared Maduro the winner of the elections, which has been questioned by many countries, some of which maintain that González Urrutia won the presidency.
The First Special Court of First Instance with supervisory functions and jurisdiction over cases related to Crimes associated with terrorism attributes crimes of “usurpation of functions“, “falsification of a public document“, “incitement to disobedience of the laws”, “conspiracy”, “sabotage aimed at damaging systems” and “association”.
Leopoldo Lopez, the opposition leader imprisoned
If Edmundo González went to prison, it would not be the first time that an opponent of Maduro did so. In fact, the former opposition leader, who is currently has been living in Spain since 2020, Leopoldo Lopezwas sentenced on September 10 from 2015 to 13 years, 9 months and 7 days in prison for incitement to violence during the massive opposition demonstrations of 2021, which left 43 dead, hundreds injured and thousands arrested.
Lopez It was delivered on February 18, 2014 Venezuelan authorities to answer to justice and has since been imprisoned in the Ramo Verde Maximum Security Military Prison. He spent more than three years there, marked by physical and psychological torturecruel treatment and theft of personal documents.
The opposition, foreign governments and human rights organizations They described him as a “political prisoner.”. His release, in early July 2017, came after more than 80 days of opposition protests in Venezuela, during which 89 people died. Your departure He once again led the fight against Maduro in the streets.
From their party, Voluntad Popular, they assured that the release of Leopoldo López It was thanks to the 99 days of protests anti-government. The Supreme Court of Justice of Venezuela has argued that the state of health of the political leader allows it to grant a humanitarian measure, his release from prison and his house arrest. But his relatives have assured that his health is perfect.
However, in early August, Agents of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN) They appeared at his house midnight on August 1, 2017 and they took him away. Also to Antonio Ledezma, metropolitan mayor of Caracas. They didn’t even let him take off his pajamas, as shown in the video published by the eldest daughter of this leader.
The Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) then alleged that the opposition leader had violated the conditions of his house arrest and reported an alleged escape plan. A week later, they released him to serve his sentence at home and imposed a new condition: he could not express any opinion “by conventional or unconventional means.”
