Venezuela’s Attorney General Tarek Williams Saab formally issued an arrest warrant for Venezuela’s winner of the 2024 presidential election and opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez on September 2. Saab, who is one of the main members of the Venezuelan socialist dictatorship, said in a televised speech he took the legal action as part of a criminal probe into the results of July’s electoral event. While Gonzalez and the Venezuelan opposition proved he won by showing the official papers of every vote, the regime of dictator Nicolas Maduro claimed victory and said that the opposition wanted to “sabotage” the election.
The warrant was formally issued after some of the top authorities of the Venezuelan regime accused Gonzalez of committing various crimes, which included the usurpation of powers, the falsification of official documents, and conspiracy. The move perpetrated by the Chavismo represents another escalation in its repressive actions against Gonzalez and his team, which is headed and commanded by opposition leader Maria Corina Machado. She was illegally barred from participating in electoral events while she won the primary election by a landslid. In response, she picked Gonzalez, who is a former diplomat, to replace her.
So far, the Venezuelan regime’s secret police have arrested many members of Machado’s team, including her personal lawyer Perkins Rocha. Independent journalists such as Nehomar Fernandez and Vladimir Villegas have said that the regime’s main goal is to dismantle her team by any means necessary, including the use of violence.
Both Venezuelan journalists explained that the socialist dictatorship believes that if it manages to “eliminate” Machado’s team, which includes the imprisonment of Gonzalez, the Venezuelan opposition will be weakened and divided. Villegas and Fernandez added that scenario is what the Chavismo is looking for, as they concluded that executing such a huge amount of damage against the opposition will allow them to get through “the chaos” of committing election fraud.
The regime sought the arrest warrant of Gonzalez after he refused to assist in an interrogation by prosecutors on three occasions. Independent media outlets revealed Gonzalez made the decision after members of his campaign received a tip that said the regime was planning to arrest him if he showed up. The 75-year-old political leader hasn’t appeared publicly since the presidential election, with Machado attending and leading every political rally and demonstration instead.
It remains unclear if Gonzalez remains in the country, as many independent journalists, such as Wender Perez, have suggested that Gonzalez may have already left the country. However, others, like Daniel Farias, have said that while Gonzalez remains in Venezuela, he’s planning to escape any time soon as he has been dealing with serious health issues. He also reportedly fears that the regime may want to kill him.
