‘No one in this country is above the law’: Nicolás Maduro speaks about the arrest warrant against opposition leader Edmundo González

The president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro said on Monday that the standard-bearer of the majority opposition, Edmundo González Urrutia, “intends to be above the law.” This is the first reaction of the president after a court in the neighboring country issued an arrest warrant against the opposition leader, accusing him of six crimes for the publication of the minutes of the elections of July 28.

“No one in this country is above the laws and institutions. Edmundo González Urrutia claims to be, the Prosecutor’s Office summoned him three times and he did not show up (…). This cowardly man has the nerve to say that he does not recognize laws, that he does not recognize anything, it is unacceptable,” he said during his weekly television program.

Maduro added that “the vast majority of Venezuelans agree that there should be order, that the Constitution should be respected and that the institutions should do their job.”

He also reiterated that The opposition leader is “hidden,” referring to González Urrutia’s decision to remain “under protection” due to repeated threats of arrest against him.

This Monday, a court specializing in terrorism issued an arrest warrant against the anti-Chavez leader, accused of allegedly committing the crimes of “usurpation of functions”, “forgery of public documents”, “instigation to disobedience of laws”, “conspiracy”, “sabotage to damage systems and association (to commit crimes)”.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office requested that the Justice Department issue an arrest warrant against González after He did not attend the three summonses issued, in which they expected him to give statements in the framework of an investigation against him. related to the fraud complaint he made regarding the presidential elections.

The investigation is related to the publication of a website on which the main opposition coalition – the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD) – claims to have uploaded “83.5% of the electoral records” collected by witnesses and polling station members to reinforce its claim that González Urrutia won the election by a wide margin.

The PUD released these records, which the Executive calls “false,” after the National Electoral Council (CNE) declared Maduro the winner of the elections, which has been questioned by numerous countries, some of which support González Urrutia’s victory as President.

The former diplomat argued days ago that he would not attend the summons because the Public Prosecutor’s Office acted as a “political accuser” which would subject him to a process “without guarantees of independence and due process.”

Maduro has called for imprisonment for González and María Corina Machado, also in hiding. He holds them responsible for acts of violence during the post-election protests, which left 27 dead – two of them soldiers -, almost 200 injured and more than 2,400 arrested.

Attorney General Tarek William Saab had already announced a criminal investigation against both men for “inciting military insurrection,” after calling on the military to recognize González Urrutia’s victory.