The Public Prosecutor’s Office announced the opening of a criminal investigation against former candidate Edmundo González and María Machado after the publication of the statement through which they announce a winner of the presidential elections other than the one proclaimed by the National Electoral Council.
According to the Attorney General of the Republic, Tarek William Saab, the investigations are directed to determine their responsibility for the alleged commission of multiple crimes described that threaten the peace of the Venezuelan Nation.
Prosecutor Saab said that in the statement posted by González Urrutia on his account in the X social network, is evidenced the alleged commission of the crimes of: Usurpation of Functions, Dissemination of False Information to Cause Unrest, Incitement to Disobedience of the Laws, Incitement to Insurrection, Association to Commit Crimes and Conspiracy, as reads the document.
Following, the full text of the communique:
“The Public Ministry of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela informs the country that as a consequence of the dissemination of a statement by the former candidate Edmundo González and the citizen María Corina Machado where, outside of the Constitution and the Law, they falsely announce a winner of the presidential elections other than the one proclaimed by the National Electoral Council, the only body qualified to do so, and in which there is an open incitement to police and military officials to the disobedience of the laws; it has decided to open a criminal investigation into both signatories of the illicit document.
In the aforementioned statement is revealed the alleged commission of the crimes of Usurpation of Functions, Dissemination of False Information to Cause Anxiety, Incitement to Disobedience of the Law, Incitement to Insurrection, Association to Commit Crimes and Conspiracy.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office, as the head of criminal proceedings, in its duty to be the guarantor of peace and stability in the country, will remain vigilant against any act that implies the generation of violence or anxiety in the population and that seeks the repetition of events that have left painful wounds in the entire Venezuelan family.”
“The Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Bolivarian Republic of #Venezuela, in response to the illicit statement issued by Edmundo González and María Machado: #reports the opening of a #CriminalInvestigation in order to determine their responsibility for the alleged commission of multiple crimes #here… pic.twitter.com/229YZWFMkM”
— Tarek William Saab (@TarekWiliamSaab) August 5, 2024