Maduro turns up heat on turncoat prosecutor
Venezuelan high court mulls end to immunity
CARACAS, Venezuela — A conflict between President Nicolas Maduro’s government and his increasingly defiant chief prosecutor was coming to a head Tuesday as Luisa Ortega Diaz announced she was boycotting a Supreme Court hearing on whether to lift her immunity from being tried for unspecified irregularities.
Ortega Diaz argued that the outcome of Tuesday’s hearing was a foregone conclusion decided by the government that violates her legal right to defense and due process.
National Guard troops and riot police took up positions outside the court building in Caracas, where protests against Maduro’s government have been raging almost daily for several months.
On Monday, the government-stacked Supreme Court acted to strip a key power from Ortega by acting itself to impose her deputy: a loyalist who was sanctioned by the United States in 2015 for her role prosecuting some of Maduro’s most vocal opponents.
The decision to name Katherine Haringhton to the post effectively made her the nation’s No. 2 law enforcement official even though the constitution says the semiautonomous chief prosecutor has the power to name her own deputy, with confirmation by congress.
Lawmakers on Monday had reconfirmed Ortega’s own choice as deputy after he was removed by the high court last week.
As Venezuela’s political crisis has deepened, Ortega has emerged as Maduro’s most-feared critic. In April, the once-loyal leftist broke with the government over its decision to strip congress of its last powers, and she has made common cause with right-wing opponents in blasting Maduro’s plans to rewrite Venezuela’s constitution.