Venezuela’s Public Ministry said the opposition leaders are being probed for inciting ‘police and military officials to disobey the laws.’
Venezuela’s Public Ministry has launched a criminal probe into opposition leaders for their appeal to the army and police to “stand on the side of the people” amid protests over the disputed election results.
It stated that Gonzalez and Machado will be investigated for “usurpation of functions, dissemination of false information to cause distress, instigation to disobedience of the laws, instigation to insurrection, association to commit crimes and conspiracy.”
The opposition leaders said in their letter that the tallied votes accessible to them showed Gonzalez had won a clear victory with 67 percent of the votes, while President Nicolas Maduro received 30 percent.
“We appeal to the conscience of the military and police to put themselves on the side of the people and their families,” the letter stated.
Maduro Vows to Offer ‘No Forgiveness’
Protests erupted in Venezuelan cities after the electoral authority declared Maduro the winner with 51 percent of the vote and stated that Gonzalez received 44 percent.
Machado, who was banned from running for president, joined a crowd of opposition supporters on Aug. 3 to encourage Venezuelans to fight for election integrity.
EU high representative Josep Borrell said copies of the electoral voting records published by the opposition and reviewed by independent organizations indicate that Gonzalez “would appear to be the winner of the Presidential elections by a significant majority.”
“Any attempt to delay the full publication of the official voting records will only cast further doubt on the credibility of the officially published results,” he added.
Borrell also urged Venezuelan authorities to “put an end to arbitrary detentions, repression and violent rhetoric against members of the opposition and civil society, and to release all political prisoners.”
Autumn Spredemann contributed to this report.