Arrest warrant issued for Western-backed Maduro rival

FILE PHOTO: Venezuelan presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez.
©Pedro Rances Mattey/Anadolu via Getty Images

The Venezuelan authorities have issued an arrest warrant for Edmundo Gonzalez, the main rival to President Nicolas Maduro in the recent presidential election. Numerous Western countries, including the US, did not recognize Maduro’s victory and insisted that Gonzalez should take office.

In a statement on Monday, the Prosecutor’s Office accused Gonzalez of several crimes, including incitement to disobey laws, usurpation of public functions, forgery of public documents, conspiracy, criminal association and sabotage. Gonzalez has denied the charges.

Commenting on the indictment, Maduro said that “no one in this country is above the laws, above the institutions.” He also noted that the Prosecutor’s Office had summoned Gonzalez – whom Maduro called a “coward” – three times but the latter did not show up because he does not recognize its authority.

Meanwhile, the opposition Unitary Platform, which supported Gonzalez’s presidential bid, expressed “strong condemnation” over what it called the “deepening of the political persecution” of the politician.

According to the National Electoral Council, Maduro won the July presidential election with 52% of the vote. The opposition, however, has accused officials in Caracas of rigging the vote, with Gonzalez claiming that he had in fact received 67%.

In the aftermath of the contested election, the US, along with the EU and several other countries, refused to recognize Maduro as the legitimate president. Other nations, however, including Russia and China, congratulated Maduro on his reelection.

The US has been at odds with Venezuela for many years and has attempted to instigate regime change in the country at least once. In 2019, the US recognized Juan Guaido, the then-head of Venezuela’s National Assembly, as the legitimate interim president of the country while openly backing the opposition. Washington has also imposed harsh economic sanctions on Venezuela, including those that specifically target its oil industry.

In the latest sign of the tensions between the two nations, Washington announced on Monday the seizure of Maduro’s plane in the Dominican Republic, which it said had been illegally smuggled from the US. Caracas denounced the confiscation as “piracy” and a blatant violation of international law.