A judge in Venezuela has issued an arrest warrant for Edmundo Gonzalez, the opposition’s former presidential candidate, following a criminal investigation into the disputed election in July against President Nicolas Maduro. The warrant was issued after Gonzalez failed to appear for questioning on charges including conspiracy and falsifying documents related to the election. The attorney general shared a photo of the warrant, and top government officials have been calling for the opposition to be jailed.
The opposition has denied any wrongdoing and Gonzalez’s spokesperson stated they were awaiting notification of the warrant. The National Electoral Council declared Maduro the winner of the election, but the opposition and much of the international community dispute the results. The US has recognized Gonzalez as the rightful winner, while the CNE, mostly composed of Maduro loyalists, claimed its website was hacked and prevented from publishing the breakdown of the results.
Observers have found no evidence to support the claim of the CNE, and the opposition has published its own polling station election results showing Gonzalez as the winner by a significant margin. According to Venezuelan law, each party involved in the election is entitled to a tally sheet from every voting machine. Despite attempts by government supporters to block opposition representatives from obtaining these documents, they managed to secure copies from over 80% of the machines. Maduro’s party has refused to publish their copies of the tally sheets.
Analysts have predicted the arrest warrant for Gonzalez, attributing it to Maduro’s need to cover up losing the election by going after the winner. Gonzalez replaced opposition leader Maria Corina Machado on the ballot at the last minute and has been in hiding since the election. The declaration of Maduro’s victory led to mass protests in which at least 27 people have been killed and 192 injured. Maduro requested a court audit of the electoral process, drawing criticism from foreign observers who deemed the court too close to the government to conduct an independent review.
Maduro has accused Gonzalez and Machado of charges including usurpation of public functions, forgery of public documents, incitement to disobedience, sabotage, and association with organized crime and financiers of terrorism. The Supreme Tribunal of Justice, proposed by federal officials and ratified by the National Assembly dominated by Maduro sympathizers, concluded that the opposition’s vote counts were false and certified Maduro’s victory. The country remains in political turmoil as the opposition faces potential arrests and continued protests against Maduro’s contested presidency.
