In Caracas, Venezuela, the attorney general announced the issuance of 14 arrest warrants on Monday against civilians and former military personnel for allegedly conspiring against President Nicolas Maduro’s government. This announcement came following Maduro’s disclosure to government legislators on Jan. 15 that conspiracies against him and high-ranking government officials had been dismantled between May and December.
Attorney General Tarek William Saab subsequently requested the court on Jan. 19 to issue arrest warrants against those involved in the conspiracies. He explained, “The five revealed conspiracies, the five plots that I wanted to describe as a conspiracy … are all being prosecuted as I have explained to reach a definitive, final sentence with the maximum penalty.”
Furthermore, Saab stated that a total of 32 people, including civilians and members of the military, have been detained over the alleged conspiracies. Notably, Maduro had recently accused the conspiracies of including plans to assassinate him and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino.
The attorney general’s office also detailed warrants for the arrests of human rights activist Tamara Suju and journalist Sebastiana Barraez, both residing abroad, for their alleged involvement in a plot at the end of last year.
In response to the warrants, Suju criticized the attorney general’s continued criminalization of the work of lawyers and human rights defenders. The defense ministry further alleged that the plots involved assistance from members of the military, without providing any specific details.
This news report was filed by Deisy Buitrago and Mayela Armas, with writing by Oliver Griffin and editing by Sandra Maler.
