Nicolás Maduro justifies the arrest warrant for Edmundo González

Although Maduro did not refer to the arrest warrant, he reiterated that the opposition leader is “hidden,” referring to González Urrutia’s decision to remain “under guard” due to repeated threats of arrest after the presidential elections on July 28, for not recognizing the official result, in which Nicolás Maduro was proclaimed the winner.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office has asked the courts to issue an arrest warrant for the anti-Chavez activist after he failed to respond to three summonses, in which they expected him to make a statement in the context of an investigation against him related to the fraud complaint he made regarding the presidential elections.

The investigation is related to the publication of a website on which the main opposition coalition – the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD) – claims to have uploaded “83.5% of the electoral records” collected by witnesses and polling station members to reinforce its claim that González Urrutia won the election by a wide margin.

The PUD released these records, which the Executive calls “false,” after the National Electoral Council (CNE) declared Maduro the winner of the elections, which has been questioned by numerous countries, some of which support González Urrutia’s victory as President.