Venezuela launches criminal investigation into opposition figures

Venezuela’s Public Ministry has opened a criminal investigation into presidential candidate Edmundo González Urrutia and opposition leader María Corina Machado, the country’s Attorney General Tarek William Saab said in a statement on Monday.

The Public Ministry said the investigation was sparked by the two opposition figures’ call for the military and police to stand “on the side of the people” in an open letter published on social media on Monday.

Venezuela’s electoral body, long stacked with regime allies, declared strongman Nicolas Maduro the winner of the recent presidential election, but has yet to provide tallies proving his win. The opposition, which enjoyed strong polling figures prior to the vote, says it won by a landslide.

The Public Ministry accused the defendants of “falsely announcing a winner of the presidential elections,” adding that only the country’s official National Electoral Council is qualified to make that call.

According to the agency, González and Machado will be investigated for “the alleged commission of the crimes of usurpation of functions, dissemination of false information to cause unrest, incitement to disobey the law, incitement to insurrection, association to commit crimes and conspiracy.

“We have known for years what tricks the regime uses, and we are well aware that the National Electoral Council is entirely under its control. It was unthinkable that Mr. Maduro would concede defeat,” she wrote.

Venezuela’s opposition and multiple other nations have refused to recognize Maduro’s victory in the July 28 vote until the release of the full vote tally.

The US, among the countries that consider González the winner, said last week that it was“clear” President Maduro lost the popular vote. Maduro’s government has in turn accused the US of attempting to orchestrate a coup – which it denies.

Though Maduro had promised free and fair elections, the process was marred with allegations of foul play – with opposition figures arrested, their key leader Machado banned from running, opposition witnesses allegedly denied access to the centralized vote count, and overseas Venezuelans largely unable to cast ballots.

Protests broke out across Venezuela following the vote, which saw the government detain hundreds of opposition supporters. Maduro has warned that he will send them to high-security prisons.

As foreign governments implore Maduro to respect Venezeualan’s human rights, Pope Francis issued a statement on X on Sunday calling for all parties in Venezuela to engage in dialogue.

Venezuela was once the fifth-largest economy in Latin America, but under Maduro’s watch, it has seen the worst economic collapse of a peacetime country in recent history. The country suffers from chronic shortages of vital goods and soaring inflation, which has pushed millions to flee.

This is a developing story and will be updated.