European Union calls for halt to “campaign of intimidation” against opposition in Venezuela

• These statements were made known a day after the Venezuelan Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation against María Corina Machado and Edmundo González | Main photo: EFE

Peter Stano, spokesman for the High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, expressed on Tuesday, August 6, his rejection of the criminal investigation initiated by the Attorney General of Venezuela against opposition leader María Corina Machado and presidential candidate Edmundo González for alleged “incitement to insurrection.”

The official said the European bloc is “very concerned” about the evolution of the political crisis in the country following the presidential elections on July 28.

“We call on the (Venezuelan) authorities to put an end to this campaign of intimidation,” Stano told reporters.

Peter Stano, spokesperson for the High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell | Photo: European Union

On August 1, Josep Borrell called on Latin American countries to unite “their positions and their forces“to demand an independent analysis of the electoral records of the presidential elections in Venezuela to clarify the results announced by the National Electoral Council (CNE), questioned by the opposition and by part of the international community.

“I call on Latin American countries to unite their positions and their forces to demand an independent analysis of the electoral records,” Borrell told the EFE news agency in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, during an official visit.

The investigation initiated by the Public Prosecutor’s Office

On the afternoon of August 5, Attorney General Tarek William Saab reported that the Public Ministry will open a criminal investigation against María Corina Machado and Edmundo González for the joint statement they issued to the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) after the presidential elections on July 28.

EFE/ Rayner Peña R.

“The Public Ministry of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in response to the invalid statement issued by Edmundo González and María Machado, informs that a criminal investigation has been opened in order to determine their responsibility for the alleged commission of multiple crimes described herein that threaten the peace of the Venezuelan nation,” wrote Saab. in his account on the social network X.

The prosecution’s text accuses Machado and González of the alleged commission of the crimes of “usurpation of functions, dissemination of false information, instigation to disobedience of the law, criminal association, among others.”

Statement from Machado and González to the FANB

Edmundo González and María Corina Machado asked the military and police on Monday, August 5 prevent what they consider a “coup d’état” given by Nicolás Maduro, who they claim seeks to make officials “complices” of this operation.

In a statement posted on social media, the opposition reiterated the allegation of electoral fraud filed by the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD), which claims to have won the July 28 presidential elections, despite the announcement by the National Electoral Council (CNE) that Maduro had won, which was followed by protests against the proclamation of the official candidate.

“We call on the conscience of the military and police to stand by the people and their own families (…) You can and must stop these actions immediately. We urge you to stop the regime’s unbridled actions against the people and to respect, and to ensure respect for, the results of the elections,” the statement said.

Opponents stressed that Maduro “refuses to acknowledge that he was defeated” and, in view of the protests against his proclamation, he launched an offensive against leaders, (electoral) witnesses and ordinary citizens.

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