CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s top prosecutor announced arrests warrants Wednesday for the presidential campaign manager of opposition powerhouse Maria Corina Machado and eight other of her staffers, accusing them of involvement in a violent anti-government conspiracy.
Attorney General Tarek William Saab said in a nationally televised news conference that campaign manager Magalli Meda and the others were accused of being part of a “destabilizing” plot that included demonstrations, a media campaign and plans to attack military barracks.
Two of the staffers already were arrested Wednesday, Saab said, but Meda was not yet detained.
Saab said the warrants stemmed from what he called a confession by another Machado staff member, Emill Brandt, who was detained earlier this month and whose attorney, Omar Mora, told The Associated Press he has been denied legal counsel of his choice.
The announcement came hours after an independent panel of experts investigating human rights violations in Venezuela told the U.N. Human Rights Council that the government of President Nicolás Maduro had increased repression efforts against real or perceived opponents ahead of this year’s presidential election.
“The mission confirms that, as has happened in the past, the authorities invoke real or fictitious conspiracies to intimidate, detain and prosecute people who oppose or criticize the government,” panel head Marta Valiñas told the council, which authorized the investigative mission.
“At the same time, the Attorney General’s Office continues to operate as part of the government’s repressive machinery to grant the appearance of legality to the persecution of critical voices,” Valiñas said in Geneva.
Machado last year overwhelmingly won a primary election held by an opposition faction. But the country’s Supreme Tribunal of Justice in January affirmed an administrative order barring the former lawmaker from holding public office for 15 years.
Machado, however, has continued her campaign, rejecting calls from inside and outside Venezuela to exit the race. Neither she nor her campaign immediately commented on Saab’s announcement.
The election is scheduled for July 28. The candidate registration period runs from March 21-25.
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