Venezuela prosecutor snubs court, defying govt in crisis
CARACAS: Venezuela’s chief prosecutor refused to appear in court Tuesday in a case she says was trumped up by the authorities after she defied them over the country’s deadly political crisis.
Luisa Ortega faced imminent suspension after her move cranked up the tension in a standoff with President Nicolas Maduro, who is resisting fierce opposition calls to quit.
Ortega, 59, is the most senior figure to defy Maduro as he fends off efforts to remove him from power in the volatile oil- exporting nation.
“I am not going condone a circus that will stain our history with shame and pain and whose decision is foretold,” Ortega told a news conference at the public prosecution department.
“I have committed no crime nor errors and I am not going to submit to this unconstitutional and illegitimate court,” she added. “We already know that today I will be removed from my post.”
Ortega’s stand has raised the prospect of a split in the government camp that could tip the balance in a deadly power struggle. Three months of unrest have left 91 people dead, prosecutors say.
The latest fatality was that of a 25 year old man killed Tuesday during a street protest in the western city of Tariba, prosecutors said.
Anti- government protesters blocked streets in Caracas and elsewhere. Opposition leaders said that in Caracas, armed progovernment groups beat and shot at demonstrators.
Protesters blame Maduro, a socialist, for a desperate economic crisis. He says the chaos is the result of a US-backed conspiracy.
Ortega launched a legal challenge against the government on human rights grounds, and a case against Supreme Court judges.
She accuses Maduro of violating the constitution through his reform plans.
Pro- government lawmaker Pedro Carreno responded by filing charges against Ortega, alleging “serious errors in the carrying out of her functions.”
He also alleged she was suffering from “insanity” and should be fi red. — AFP