United States and nine Latin American countries On Tuesday they rejected the arrest warrant issued by a Venezuelan court against the opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutiawho denounced fraud and claimed victory in the July presidential elections.
Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic and Uruguay “We unequivocally and absolutely reject the arrest warrant” issued on Monday against González Urrutia, said a joint statement released by the Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry.
Later, the head of US diplomacy for Latin America, Brian Nichols, said on social network X that Washington joins “the growing list of international allies that condemn” the “unjustified arrest warrant” of the Venezuelan opposition leader.
The Venezuelan prosecution requested the arrest of Gonzalez Urrutia for alleged election-related crimes, including “disobedience of laws” and “conspiracy.”
The Venezuelan opposition claims that González Urrutia was the winner of the presidential elections and published on a website a copy of more than 80% of the voting records, according to which he had obtained a resounding majority.
That page is the focus of the investigation that led to the arrest warrant for González Urrutia, 75 years old and in hiding since July 30.
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The National Electoral Council, on the other hand, proclaimed Nicolás Maduro as re-elected president for a third term with 52 percent of the votes, but has not released the detailed count. The opposition accuses this body of serving the government.
“Instead of acknowledging his electoral defeat and preparing for a peaceful transition in Venezuela, Maduro has now ordered the arrest of the democratic leader who defeated him overwhelmingly at the polls,” Nichols said.
Meanwhile, the nine Latin American nations noted that the arrest warrant “cites several alleged crimes which are nothing more than another attempt to silence Mr. González, ignore the will of the Venezuelan people, and constitute political persecution.”
“In a country where there is no separation of powers or minimum judicial guarantees and where arbitrary arrests abound, we condemn these dictatorial practices,” they added.
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They also pledged to join forces to “demand that the Venezuelan authorities guarantee the life, integrity and freedom” of Gonzalez Urrutia.