González’s defense justifies absence from testimony in Venezuela

Edmundo González Urrutia’s (Democratic Unitary Platform, center-right) lawyer, José Vicente Haro, met this Wednesday (September 4, 2024) with the attorney general Tarek William Saab to present the justification for non-compliance with the 3 orders to testify to the Public Ministry of Venezuela.

The failure to provide clarification to the Public Prosecutor’s Office by the main opposition candidate to President Nicolás Maduro (United Socialist Party of Venezuela, left) led the Venezuelan Justice Department to order the arrest of González, who has not been seen in public since July 30. He had not responded to requests, claiming “lack of guarantees” to your safety.

The investigation that led to the arrest warrant is linked to the publication of a website with electoral records used by the opposition to contest Maduro’s reelection. González, fearing reprisals, has been in hiding for more than a month.

Haro, upon arriving at the MP this Wednesday (September 4), said that the Maduro government had refused a legal document from González requesting the Public Ministry to stop the “criminalization” of politics and the “persecution”.

Before entering the MP building, González’s lawyer explained that the document justified the absences of Maduro’s opponent and stated that in the meeting he would have with Saab, he would commit to answering any questions the attorney general had.

“In general terms, [o documento] contains the reasons from a constitutional, legal and legal point of view, why he did not appear before the Public Prosecutor’s Office, to the representation that was indicated […] There is a situation of indefensibility, of impossibility of guaranteeing your right to defense, to due process”declared Haro.

However, during the attempt to deliver the document to the attorney general, Haro said he faced bureaucratic obstacles, including the initial refusal to receive the document due to lack of correct authorization and technical problems with the system used by the government.

After being asked to return later, the lawyer was unable to retrieve the copy of the statement he tried to deliver, highlighting the difficulties faced by González’s defense in defending itself against the Chavista regime’s accusations against the opponent.

VENEZUELA UNDER MADURO

Venezuela lives under an autocracy led by Nicholas Mature61 years old. There is no freedom of the press. People can be arrested for “political crimes”. OAS published notice in May 2021 (PDF – 179 kB) regarding the “illegitimate appointment” of the National Electoral Council. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights reported abuses in October 2022 (PDF – 150 kB), November 2022 (PDF – 161 kB) and March 2023 (PDF – 151 kB). Report from Human Rights Watch disclosed in 2023 (PDF – 5 MB) states that 7.1 million Venezuelans have fled the country since 2014.

Maduro denies that the country is under a dictatorship. He says that there are regular elections and that the opposition simply cannot win.

The presidential elections carried out on July 28, 2024 are contested by part of the international community. The main opposition leader, Maria Corina, was prevented in June 2023 to hold public office for 15 years. The Venezuelan Supreme confirmed the decision in January 2024. He claimed “administrative irregularities” that were allegedly committed when she was a deputy, from 2011 to 2014, and by “corruption plot” for supporting Juan Guaidó.

Corina indicated the ally Corina Yoris to compete. However, Yoris was unable to formalize the application because of an alleged failure in the electoral system. The diplomat Edmund Gonzalez assumed the role of being the main opposition candidate.

The government-controlled National Electoral Council of Venezuela, announced on July 28, 2024 Maduro’s victory. The body confirmed the result on August 2, 2024, but did not release the ballots. The Venezuelan Supreme Court of Justice, controlled by the current regime, said on August 22, 2024 that the ballots will not be released.

The Carter Center, a respected organization created by former US President USA Jimmy Carter, considered that the elections in Venezuela “were not democratic”. Read the full (in English – PDF – 107 kB) of the statement.

The results have been repeatedly contested by the European Union and several individual countries, including the United States, Mexico, Argentina, Costa Rica, Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay. Brazil has not yet recognized Maduro’s election in 2024, but it has not made tougher demands like other countries that point to fraud in the process. The president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) even said he had not seen anything abnormal in the country’s election.

Human Rights Watch criticized Presidents Lula, Gustavo Petro (Colombia) and Andrés Manuel López Obrador (Mexico) in August 2024. In a letter sent to the three, they stated that they needed to reconsider their positions on Venezuela and criticized the leaders’ proposals to resolve the impasse, such as a new election and a general amnesty. Read the full of the document (PDF – 2 MB).