Above Photo: Antonio Ledezma and María Corina Machado. Archive.
Venezuela’s Attorney General Tarek William Saab announced that an arrest warrant was issued for the fugitive Antonio Ledezma due to his statements that called for deaths and confrontation between Venezuelans.
“We have requested an arrest warrant for Antonio Ledezma for the crimes of treason, conspiracy, incitement to commit a crime, and association,” the prosecutor said at a press conference.
In order to advance the proceedings, said Saab, national prosecutors #67 and #74, with full jurisdiction against organized crime, were appointed.
At the press conference, he reported that technical expertise is being activated “for the purpose of requesting an arrest warrant against him.”
“Additionally, we will again request his extradition from Spain,” added the Attorney General.
Recently, Ledezma told a foreign media outlet that opposition member María Corina Machado will seek to call for civil disobedience and that they are in talks with the military already.
“The only way to be able to carry out the registration of a woman (María Corina Machado) who is being vetoed by the regime is by starting civil disobedience,” said Ledezma.
“We are talking to the military,” added Ledezma.
The attorney general asserted that these statements seek to “call for death, for Venezuelans to kill themselves, while they enjoy this action from abroad, totally outside the law.”
“It is summoning to kill. It does not matter to them if there are children [killed],” said Saab. “The Public Ministry will act to avoid any event that implies bloodshed in the country,” he added.
“Venezuelan authorities have avoided a complete collapse [of the country],” said Saab. “No one abroad should have impunity. We aspire that the Spanish authorities pronounce themselves and respect international law.”
Furthermore, the attorney general pointed out that Ledezma, who has been a fugitive since 2017, when he left Venezuela while sentenced to house arrest, admitted his participation in destabilizing actions such as violent protests of 2014, referred to as La Salida, which led to over 50 deaths and 1,000 injuries.
Saab recalled the past actions of spokespeople and actors of local far-right forces who have tried to destabilize the country and overthrow the duly elected government of Nicolas Maduro.
Saab recalled also the violence promoted by these factors from 2002 to 2017 as well as the unilateral coercive measures that continue to cause enormous problems for all Venezuelans.