NEWS ALERT: Venezuelan judge issues arrest warrant for opposition’s former presidential candidate

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From the Associated Press: A Venezuelan judge on Monday issued an arrest warrant for the opposition’s former presidential candidate Edmundo González as part of a criminal investigation into the results of the highly anticipated July election that both the ruling party and its opponents claim to have won.

The warrant was issued at the request of authorities who accuse González, a former diplomat, of various crimes including conspiracy, falsifying documents and usurpation of powers. The move is the latest escalation of repression against the opposition in the month after election officials declared President Nicolás Maduro had won a third six-year term in office.

Authorities sought the warrant after González failed to appear three times to answer questions from prosecutors. González, 75, has not made any public appearances since the day after the election. His campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.

Prosecutors have zeroed in on thousands of tally sheets known as actas — printouts measuring several feet that resemble shopping receipts — that have long been considered the ultimate proof of election results in Venezuela. Each of the 30,000 electronic voting machines used in the July 28 election printed several copies of the sheets, whose information was also transmitted to the National Electoral Council.

The report explains that Maduro was declared the winner by the Venezuelan election officials, who did not release the results broken down by voting machine as had been customary in the past.

According to Venezuelan law, each party has the right to a tally sheet from each voting machine. However, when the opposition party requested it, Maduro’s officials tried to block the request.

The opposition party managed to obtain the tallies from over 80% of the machines, then published the records online and announced that Maduro had actually lost by a wide margin.

Maduro then asked the country’s high court to perform an “audit” of the election. On August 22, the court declared the vote counts published by the opposition were false, and again declared Maduro the winner.

Now Maduro wants Gonzalez arrested.

Opposition Leader María Corina Machado responded in a statement: “Maduro has lost all touch with reality. The arrest warrant issued by the regime to threaten President-Elect Edmundo Gonzalez crosses a new line that only strengthens the resolve of our movement.
Venezuelans and democracies around the world are more united than ever in our quest for freedom.”

On Tuesday, Machado thanked multiple countries who have spoken out against the arrest warrant.

Machado wrote, “We Venezuelans thank the governments of Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay for their rejection of the regime’s attempt to detain the President-Elect of Venezuela, @EdmundoGU.”

“Maduro sinks and isolates himself more every day. We build more strength and consolidate support. We are moving forward!”

Daily Wire reporter Ryan Saavedra announced: A Venezuelan court has granted an arrest warrant for opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia for claiming that he won the country’s recent election. Venezuelan socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro called for him to be arrested.

The arrest warrant is for “usurpation” of public functions, “forgery” of a public document, incitement to disobedience, sabotage, and “association” with organized crime and financiers of “terrorism.”

Journalist Ian Miles Cheong responded, “Venezuela is arresting the opposition party leader for claiming he won the election. This exactly what they tried to do to Trump and Bolsonaro.”

X owner Elon Musk then quipped, “Yeah. At least we got Maduro’s jet.”

On Monday, U.S. officials seized a plane in the Dominican Republic being used by Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro and flew it back to the United States.

Fox News explained:

The plane, described by officials as Maduro’s version of “Air Force One,” is used for Maduro’s state visits around the world and was seized in the Dominican Republic after it was purchased through a straw company in violation of sanctions laws and export controls, the official said. U.S. authorities cited a specific violation of U.S. executive order 13884, signed by former President Donald Trump in 2019.

More details below:

BREAKING: US seizes socialist authoritarian’s plane under Trump-era executive order

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