Venezuela opens probe into opposition over ‘insurrection’ attempts 

Western-backed figures have contested President Nicolas Maduro’s election victory and have called on the country’s security forces to join protests 

Venezuela has launched a criminal investigation into Western-backed opposition figures Edmundo Gonzalez and Maria Corina Machado, after they called on the armed forces to abandon their support for the country’s legitimate president, Nicolas Maduro. 

Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE) on July 28 declared Maduro the winner of the country’s presidential election. On Friday, Venezuelan authorities ratified Maduro’s victory after the final ballot count revealed that he had won 52% of the vote, compared to 43% for main rival Gonzalez. 

The opposition contested Maduro’s victory and proclaimed Gonzalez as the elected president in a letter posted on X (formerly Twitter), also calling on the country’s security forces to “stand by the people” and protest the result. 

Gonzalez and Machado “falsely announced a winner of the presidential election other than the one proclaimed by the National Electoral Council, the only body qualified to do so,” Venezuela’s top prosecutor, Tarek William Saab, said in a statement on Monday. 

The former presidential candidate and his allies have openly incited “police and military officials to disobey the laws” by spreading false information, the statement added. 

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The prosecutor general said Gonzalez and Machado will be investigated for “the alleged commission of the crimes of usurpation of functions, dissemination of false information to cause unrest, incitement to disobey the law, incitement to insurrection, association to commit crimes and conspiracy.”  

Protests erupted in the South American country following the announcement of the election results. Maduro condemned the unrest an attempted “coup against Venezuela.”  

Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez also accused the Western-backed opposition of attempting a “media coup” and condemned the protests. 

Washington backed the opposition candidate, with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken saying on Thursday that “Edmundo Gonzalez won the most votes in Venezuela’s July 28 presidential election.”  

Caracas has been under US sanctions for over 15 years. Washington refused to recognize Maduro as president following the 2018 election, and declared the head of the National Assembly, Juan Guaido, to be the interim leader of the country. Following Maduro’s reelection, Russia and China congratulated the incumbent. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said last week that Venezuela’s opposition should admit defeat and congratulate the winner. Other countries that have recognized Maduro’s victory include Bolivia, Cuba, Honduras, and Nicaragua.