Venezuelan Prosecutor Arrested for Refusing to Try Protestors

A Venezuelan prosecutor identified as Rosa María Mota, a prosecutor in the Apure State, was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly purposefully delaying the prosecution of protestors, divulging confidential information, and allowing those investigated for "acts of violence, acts of vandalism, and destabilization" to go free, according to Attorney General Tarek William Saab..Another Arrest.Mota joins another prosecutor who was arrested on Saturday for allegedly interfering in investigations into anti-government protestors. The prosecutor, Maglen Marin Rodriguez, worked as a temporary prosecutor in Anzoátegui State and according to Saab refused to try four individuals held for partaking in anti-government demonstrations following President Nicolas Maduro's contested victory in the nation's July 28 presidential election..The four individuals that Rodriguez refused to try include Alfenis Jose La Rosa González, José Eduardo Malaver Rondon, Luis Antonio Bericote Malave, and Edén de Jesús Naranjo Monasterios, who stand accused of financing terrorism, terrorism, incitement to hatred, and association to commit a criminal act. Saab alleged these four belong to the Unitary Platform, an alliance of Venezuela's opposition parties led by former presidential candidate Maria Corina Machado and the alliance which opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González Urrutia belongs to. These individuals allegedly paid motorists to take part in the same anti-government demonstrations the four participated in..The actions of lower-level government officials acts as evidence that not all of Venezuela's government is completely loyal to Maduro and his regime. The opposition has recently sought to capitalize on this contested loyalty as both Machado and González released a statement calling on the lower enlisted within Venezuela's armed forces and police to join the opposition in their fight against Maduro's regime on Monday.."We won in all the states of the country and in almost all the municipalities," the opposition leaders proclaimed in their statement. "This reality is witnessed by all citizens, including the members of Plan República.".Plan República consists of members of the armed forces deployed to polling sites across the country to ensure safety during elections. This deployment has been party to a number of controversies during this year's elections, with voters claiming the personnel prevented many Venezuelans from exercising their will to vote and did not allow the entry of opposition election observers..Venezuela's 2024 presidential election has been heavily contested between the Unitary Platform and the Venezuelan government which is largely controlled by those loyal to Maduro following the National Electoral Council's (CNE) declaration of Maduro as the victor in this year's election despite failing to release polling tally sheets to the general public. The opposition, on the other hand, has released 80 percent of tally sheets to the public through a website, leading some nations to declare support for González and the opposition..This website has recently come under fire, as the Prosecutor's Office announced on Wednesday their intention to launch an investigation into both the website and those responible for it, saying in a statement the website published "alleged forged or falsified documents," regarding the electoral results. Those who are arrested regarding the website will be tried for "usurpation of functions, forging of public documents, instigation to dissonance of laws, computer crimes, association for crime and conspiracy," according to the statement..Since the announced results, large scale mobilizations of anti-government demonstrators have taken to the streets of Venezuela to protest against both the results and Maduro's regime's efforts to suppress the opposition following the president's declared victory. Since protests began, at least 1,200 people have been arrested according to the prosecutor's office while at least 20 deaths have been reported by Human Rights Watch..Furthermore, following the opposition's attempts to court Venezuela's lower enlisted, the Prosecutor's Office announced an investigation has been launched into the pair both for their calls for the military to join the opposition and for publishing tally sheets. Prior to this however, Saab announced the Prosecutor's Office launched an investigation into Machado and two other opposition figures for allegedly taking part in a supposed cyberattack against the CNE launched from North Macedonia. Following this announcement, Machado announced through an article published by the Wall Street Journal that she has since entered hiding for fear of reprisals from Maduro's regime..These arrests alongside the targeting of figures within the political opposition has led to a large number of international observers and analysts to express concerns regarding the safety of those opposed to Maduro's regime in Venezuela. But Maduro has not stopped at suppressing Venezuelans. Following his announced win on July 29, a number of nations called into question the legitimacy of the election itself, citing contrary reports of González's win in polling stations across the country, attacks on poll observers by armed bands of civilians loyal to Maduro, and reports of authorities refusing to allow voters to exercise their democratic rights..Following condemnation by countries such as Argentina, Chile, and Peru, Maduro expelled diplomatic staff from the three nations leading to a diplomatic crisis regarding six Venezuelan asylees residing in Argentina's embassy since March. Luckily, Brazil has chosen to take on the responsibilities of the expelled nations, both safeguarding the six asylees residing in Argentina's diplomatic premises and acting as representatives for those nations expelled..Following the expulsion of diplomatic staff and the publication of tally sheets by the opposition, numerous nations have directly endorsed the opposition as the true victors of this year's election. Two of these nations include the United States and Argentina, the latter of which is led by Javier Milei, a controversial figure within Argentine politics who has bashed a multitude of world leaders for allegedly being "communists.".Even nations that once only requested the publication of tally sheets by Maduro's regime have begun to question the legitimacy of the election, with Colombia's Congress openly denouncing the results announced by the CNE.."If there is something that must be transparent in a democracy, it is the results of an electoral process," Efraín Cepeda, the president of Colombia's Senate, said in a statement before Congress. "Such transparency does not exist in this case, and that is why we join the voices who do not recognize the decision of the National Electoral Council of that country.".As Venezuela's election remains contested, the plans of the opposition to remove Maduro from power remain uncertain as coups against the president's regime have been met with failure, such as Operation Gideon in 2020, while the formation of an opposition government led by Juan Guaidó also failed following the previous presidential elections in 2018. Some have suggested the opposition may seek to remove Maduro from power by securing the loyalty of the military's lower enlisted, as evidenced by a statement published by both Machado and González on Monday, however, a successful coup remains unlikely due to Maduro's control of both the Venezuelan higher government and military elite..Regardless of the opposition's strategy in regards to Maduro, political repression against the opposition alongside violence on Venezuela's streets will continue as the election remains contested.