Venezuela will order opposition leader to testify in latest crackdown following disputed election
Venezuela’s government will order former opposition candidate Edmundo González to provide sworn testimony in an ongoing investigation into what it considers attempts to spread panic in the South American country by contesting the results of last month’s presidential election
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela's government said Friday it will order former opposition candidate Edmundo González to provide sworn testimony in an ongoing investigation into what it considers attempts to spread panic in the South American country by contesting the results of last month's presidential election.
It's the latest attempt by Nicolas Maduro's government to crack down on opponents who claim they handily defeated the self-declared socialist leader.
Maduro has refused to recognize defeat and claims he won the July 28 election by more than 1 million votes, even though tally sheets by González's campaign and published online show the president lost by a more than 2-to-1 margin. The U.S., United Nations and others said the vote lacked credibility and even some of Maduro's leftist allies in Latin America have called on him to publish the voting records.
Venezuela's Attorney General Tarek William Saab at a press conference Friday accused the former candidate of trying to “illegally usurp responsibilities that belong exclusively” to the National Electoral Council.
