Top Venezuelan prosecutor launches criminal investigation into Maduro opposition

Venezuela’s attorney general announced a criminal investigation on Monday, into President Nicolás Maduro’s opponents for calling on the country’s armed forces to stop supporting their leader and stop repressing demonstrators.

The Associated Press reported that Attorney General Tarek William Saab released a statement on the investigation tied to a written appeal by presidential candidate Edmundo González and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado. The appeal, sent hours before Saab announced the investigation, was about Maduro and the demonstrators who protested in defense of their votes cast during the July 28 election.

In a post on X, Saab accused the duo of falsely announcing "a winner of the presidential election other than the one proclaimed by the National Electoral Council, the only body qualified to do so."

Saab also said González and Machado openly incited "police and military officials to disobey the laws."

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Nicolas Maduro said Maria Corina Machado and Edmundo Gonzalez should face prison sentences of at least 30 years for promoting post-election violence and seeking to destabilize his government. (Gaby Oraa/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

According to Saab, the written appeal by González and Machado exhibits that they committed various crimes like usurpation of functions, dissemination of false information to cause fear and conspiracy.

The two suspects called on leaders of security forces to reconsider their loyalty toward Maduro.

"We appeal to the conscience of the military and police to put themselves on the side of the people and their families," González and Machado wrote. "We won this election without any doubt. It was an electoral avalanche."

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Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado and opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez join hands during a protest against the result of the presidential election on July 30, 2024, in Caracas, Venezuela. (Alfredo Lasry R/Getty Images)

"Now it’s up to all of us to respect the voice of the people," they added.

The Maduro-controlled National Electoral Council handed victory to the incumbent with an alleged margin of 51%, compared to 44% support for the opposition. They have yet to produce voting tallies to prove Maduro won the race.

Pre-election polling (which is illegal in the country) indicated that opposition candidate González received double the votes of Maduro. The opposition also claims to have collected records from over 80% of the 30,000 polling booths across Venezuela showing it beat Maduro.

The U.S. eventually recognized González as the winner after claiming to have reviewed the tally sheets.

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Supporters of Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado hold their pictures during a campaign a rally. (Raul Arboldea/AFP via Getty Images)

On Saturday, Maduro announced his government had arrested 2,000 opponents and at a rally in Caracas he pledged to detain more and send them to prison. The uprising following the election results has also claimed the lives of at least 11 people, according to Foro Penal, a Caracas-based human rights group, the AP reported.

González and Machado called on Venezuelans with family members serving in the security forces to urge their loved ones to not obey illegal orders and to not attack protesters. The duo said they would offer "guarantees" to soldiers who follow the constitution, even while promising there would be no impunity for those behind abuses and following illegal orders.

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González is a former diplomat and Machado was barred by the government from running for office. Both of them are in hiding and have said they fear they will be arrested or killed. Maduro has threatened to lock González and Machado up.

Fox News Digital's Peter Aitken and The Associated Press contributed to this report.