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Venezuela launches criminal probe into opposition leaders

Aug 6, 2024, 8:32am EDT
South America
FILE PHOTO: Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado attends a protest against election results that awarded Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro with a third term, in Caracas, Venezuela, August 3, 2024. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/File Photo
Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/Reuters
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Venezuela’s attorney general — an ally of President Nicolás Maduro — opened a criminal investigation into María Corina Machado and Edmundo González, two of the nation’s opposition leaders, on allegations including “incitement to insurrection.”

Tarek William Saab said they “falsely announced a winner of the presidential election other than the one proclaimed by the National Electoral Council, the only body qualified to do so,” adding that they incited “police and military officials to disobey the laws.”

Venezuelans have been protesting en masse following last month’s election, calling for Maduro to step aside over the disputed election results: The NEC did not publicize the vote tallies and many believe Maduro lost the vote. Multiple countries including France, Germany, and Italy have urged Venezuela to release the voting records.

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