WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A court in Venezuela has issued an arrest warrant for opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia.
Judge Edward Briceno issued the warrant ruling favorably to a request by the public prosecutor's office, reports say.
The judge, who rules on terrorism-related crimes in Venezuela, and the prosecutor's office are reportedly loyal to President Nicolas Maduro.
The state-controlled National Electoral Council's announcement declaring Maduro as the winner in the disputed presidential election triggered nation-wide protests.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had expressed concerns for the safety of Venezuelan opposition leaders early last month.
Blinken noted that Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia received the most votes in the July 28 election.
Declaring incumbent president Maduro as the winner was deeply flawed, and does not represent the will of the Venezuelan people, according to the United States.
The European Union and many other western and Latin American governments have said they will not recognize Maduro as the winner.
Opposition leaders, including Urrutia and Democratic Unitary Platform leader María Corina Machado, were under threats of being arrested.
Machado published a letter in The Wall Street Journal stating that she had gone in to hiding 'fearing for my life, my freedom, and that of my fellow countrymen from the dictatorship of Nicolas Maduro'.
The Venezuelan attorney general, a close ally of the President, had announced he is investigating Machado and Urrutia for alleged 'incitement to insurrection'.
Copyright(c) 2024 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2024 AFX News
