The United States does not yet recognize González Urrutia as president of Venezuela, but it does recognize him as the winner of the elections
14ymedio/EFE, Madrid/Caracas, 6 August 2024 — The Venezuelan Prosecutor’s Office announced on Monday that it will open a criminal investigation against María Corina Machado and the opposition presidential candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia, for “instigation to insurrection,” after both called on the police and military to stop the “repression” ordered by the president, Nicolás Maduro.
The accusation has been quickly seconded by the Cuban regime, which calls the demonstrations in the Venezuelan streets a “reissue of an attempted coup d’état using Guaidó’s formula in 2019.”
It is no coincidence that, in the same vein, the official newspaper Granma published the statements of Vladimir Padrino, Minister of Defense, reaffirming “the most absolute loyalty and unconditional support for Nicolás Maduro,” whom he considers “legitimately re-elected by the people and proclaimed by the electoral power.” It is vital for the Venezuelan regime to guarantee the support of the military, and thus the president announced promotions of officers this Sunday. “There will be peace in this country,” says Granma, quoting Vladimir Padrino.
Padrino is, precisely, one of the military figures that Nicolás Maduro distrusts, according to a note published by El Nuevo Herald. “They have him corralled; they are watching him everywhere,” Maduro’s former head of intelligence, Manuel Christopher Figuera, who worked closely with Padrino before going into exile, told a Miami newspaper.
“Padrino is the one who is in a position to act; he has the highest authority over the monopoly of the nation’s weapons”
According to this source, the Venezuelan president has resorted to Cuban agents in order to control members of the Army who could “have doubts. Padrino is the one who is in a position to act, he has the highest authority over the monopoly of the nation’s weapons, but he is also the only one who could independently negotiate a way out, so he won’t be killed,” Figuera said.
In a statement, the Attorney General, Tarek William Saab, indicated that investigations will begin in the face of this “open incitement” to the uniformed to “disobey the laws,” given that the opposition leaders asked them to “respect” the results of the July 28 elections that, they say, result in González Urrutia being the winner and not Maduro, though the latter was announced by the National Electoral Council (CNE).
“The aforementioned pronouncement evidences the alleged commission of the crimes of usurpation of functions, dissemination of false information to cause anxiety, instigation to the disobedience of the laws, instigation to insurrection, criminal association and conspiracy,” says the brief, published on X by the prosecutor.
According to the regime, Machado and González Urrutia act “outside the Constitution and the Law” when talking about a winner other than Maduro in the elections in this “irritating document.”
The letter from the opposition, published on Monday, reiterates the complaint of electoral fraud by the Government and denounces the repression unleashed in response to the protests against Maduro’s proclamation, which has also been questioned by a large part of the international community.
“We are in close contact with our partners in the region, especially Brazil, Mexico and Colombia, to find a way forward”
In this regard, the United States clarified on Monday that, although it has recognized Edmundo González Urrutia as the winner of the elections, it still does not recognize him as president of the country.
“We are not at that point yet. We are in close contact with our partners in the region, especially Brazil, Mexico and Colombia, to find a way forward,” explained State Department spokesman Matthew Miller in a statement. Miller also urged the ruling party and the opposition to “start discussions for a peaceful transition back to democracy.”
The spokesman reiterated the call for the CNE, which proclaimed the victory of President Nicolás Maduro in the elections of July 28 without providing any evidence, to immediately publish the tally sheets with the results.
The president of the CNE, Elvis Amoroso, handed over the alleged records of scrutiny of the presidential elections to the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) on Monday. The president of the highest court, Caryslia Rodríguez, a chavista, indicated that they will begin the “process of expert opinion of the recorded material” for a period of up to 15 days, which can be extendable.
She also said that the presidential candidates, as well as representatives of the political parties, will be summoned to record all the “electoral instruments” that are in their hands, as well as to respond to an interrogation.
Among those cited are President Maduro, as well as the opposition leader González Urrutia. In addition, the representative of the opposition Bureau of Democratic Unity (now Democratic Unity Platform, PUD), José Luis Cartaya; the general secretary of the Movement for Venezuela (MPV), Simón Calzadilla; the governor of the state of Zulia (west), Manuel Rosales; and the candidate Enrique Márquez were summoned. Also included are the Chavistas Diosdado Cabello, Hipólito Abreu, Ilenia Medina, Ricardo Sánchez and Didalco Bolívar.
The spokesman for the U.S. State Department stressed that any evidence presented by the CNE will require “a thorough scrutiny”
She also requested “all the elements” that prove “the reported cyber attack against the computer system” of the institution, which represented an “impediment for the timely transmission of electoral results.”
The spokesman for the U.S. State Department stressed that any evidence presented by the CNE will require “a thorough scrutiny” due to the “potential for alteration and manipulation” a week after the elections took place.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken recognized González Urrutia’s electoral victory on August 1, giving veracity to the voting records obtained by the opposition platform that would give an overwhelming victory to its candidate.
The presidents of the largest left-wing powers of the region, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, Gustavo Petro of Colombia and Andrés Manuel López Obrador of Mexico asked the CNE in a joint statement to make the records public and that there be a verification of the results. However, their position may hide, according to some analysts, the intention to annul the elections and help Maduro in a negotiated exit.
Meanwhile, at least 91 teenagers have been arrested in Venezuela in the last week. Foro Penal, an association of lawyers in defense of political prisoners in Venezuela, said on X that these arrests have been verified and are part of the total of 1,010 people behind bars for demonstrating, in almost all regions of the country, in rejection of Maduro’s proclamation.
In this regard, the general coordinator of the NGO Cecodap, Carlos Trapani, explained to EFE that these arrests have shown patterns contrary to legal regulations. The detention centers are police commands or military headquarters instead of specialized spaces for the care of minors.
Likewise, he continued, another feature that is repeated is the violation of the periods established in terms of the appearance in court of minors, which should be carried out no more than 24 hours from the time of arrest. Some minors have been detained up to six days without being able to know the accusations against them.
The relatives of the minors have claimed, according to Trapani, that the arrests occurred with excessive physical and psychological violence and that the detainees have not been allowed to communicate with their families or defense attorneys.
The lawyer said that, according to Venezuelan legislation, a person under the age of 14 cannot be charged, and he drew attention to a case of a 13-year-old boy who, according to human rights organizations, is among those apprehended. According to the Network for the Human Rights of Children and Adolescents of Venezuela, a 15-year-old teenager died due to the “excessive use of force by the officials who contained the demonstration” in which he participated, in the state of Zulia, on the border with Colombia.
Voice of America also reported that on Monday, at the Simón Bolívar de Maiquetía international airport in Caracas, “multiple forced disappearances of Venezuelans and expulsions of foreigners” have occurred.
At least 14 journalists were deported from Venezuela between July 25 and August 2, as reported on X by the National Union of Press Workers. Most of the journalists were not allowed to enter in Maiquetía and were returned to their countries of origin. Others were arrested by security forces even in their hotels, and at police and military checkpoints. They were taken to the airport and expelled according to their testimonies, press accounts and reports from the governments of their respective countries.
In total, there have been at least 1,010 arrests and 11 deaths from the repression during the post-election crisis in Venezuela, according to reports from Foro Penal.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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