BOGOTA/HOUSTON, Dec 6 (Reuters) – Venezuela’s attorney general said on Wednesday that arrest warrants had been issued for several people associated with opposition presidential candidate Maria Colina Machado’s campaign on charges including treason. As a result, an opposition lawmaker was arrested on Wednesday on charges of treason. .
A lawyer for Mr. Machado’s party, Vente Venezuela, said on the same day that its officials had always acted correctly.
Alfredo Romero, head of the non-governmental organization Foro Penal, said Machado’s arrest was confirmed by the wife of Roberto Abdul, a member of the committee that planned the primaries in which Machado was selected as the opposition candidate in 2024. said on social media.
Detective Foro regularly defends political prisoners.
Abdul has previously been questioned by authorities in connection with a criminal investigation into the primary election, which the opposition claims was transparent and fair.
Attorney General Tarek Saab said on state television in the afternoon that arrest warrants had also been issued for Henry Albiarez, Claudia Macero and Pedro Urturtu on charges including treason, conspiracy and money laundering.
Saab said the three employees, along with Abdul, took part in “destabilizing and conspiratorial actions” against the recent referendum on territorial disputes with Guyana.
Voters in the referendum, backed by the government of President Nicolás Maduro, rejected international court jurisdiction over the long-running conflict and supported the creation of a new Venezuelan state in the Essequibo region, which has been questioned. Guyana was very disappointed. Legitimacy of voting.
Saab said the four and their foreign allies used “money laundering financing from international organizations and foreign companies such as ExxonMobil” to fund their operations, without providing further details.
Exxon (XOM.N) operates its largest foreign oil project off the coast of Guyana. Chief Executive Darren Woods said earlier Wednesday that he expected the dispute to be resolved through international arbitration within the next few years.
Exxon did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saab’s claims.
Machado, who held a press conference at about the same time as Saab, said authorities “believe that this will cause fear, imbalance, demoralization and demobilization, but quite the opposite is the case.”
She added that three staff members were present at her event and had the full support of the party.
The party’s lawyer, Perkins Rocha, later said in comments shared on social media that there had been no formal notification of the warrant.
“We’re waiting to hear from them. We want to know what it is,” Rocha said.
Reporting by Vivian Secuela in Bogota and Sabrina Valle in Houston, additional reporting by Daisy Buitrago in Caracas and Kiana Willberg in Georgetown, writing by Julia Simmes Cobb.Edited by: Lisa Shoemaker and Sri Navaratnam
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