A Venezuelan judge on Monday issued an arrest warrant for Edmundo González Urrutia, the opposition candidate widely believed to have won the disputed July 28 election against Nicolás Maduro.
The 75-year-old retired diplomat thrust himself into the forefront of Venezuelan politics earlier this year after agreeing to run against Maduro in place of opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who was barred from running for office.
Maduro claimed victory in the election, but has yet to provide any evidence. While González and the opposition coalition released 80% of polling tables at the center level showing that he won the presidential election by a wide margin.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office charged González with embezzlement of public funds, falsification of public documents, incitement to disobey the law, sabotage of computer systems and conspiracy against the state.
These alleged crimes could see the retired diplomat behind bars for the rest of his life if convicted.
Attorney General Tarek William Saab, a staunch Maduro ally, first filed a request to issue an arrest warrant against González as part of an investigation into the website where the opposition published vote tallies.
The signed request was made public in a now-deleted post from the public prosecutor’s Instagram account. The order was officially issued by a judge soon after.
This comes after the Public Ministry summoned González three times for investigation last week. González has not been seen in public for more than a month, while the Maduro regime has been busy arresting other members of the opposition.
On Monday night, opposition leader Machado called on people to remain calm and accused the regime of “losing all sense of reality”.
“By threatening the President-elect, they succeed only in uniting us further and increasing the support of Venezuelans and the world for Edmundo González,” she added via X.
In a joint statement, Argentina, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Paraguay, Peru, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay “unequivocally and absolutely” rejected the arrest warrant against González.
The seven Latin American countries considered the arrest warrant “nothing more than another attempt to silence Mr. González, to ignore the will of the Venezuelan people,” adding that he “commits political persecution.”
Additionally, Chile, Peru and the United States have issued similar statements condemning the order against González.
Since the July elections, the country has been plunged into turmoil. The crackdown on the Maduro government has resulted in at least 1,700 arrests after spontaneous protests erupted in the days after the election. Several allies of González and Machado have been captured by the secret police, the latest being Machado’s lawyer and close confidant, Perkins Rocha.
González’s whereabouts are currently unknown.
