Brazil expresses “concern” over arrest order for Maduro's opponent

The Brazilian government has expressed "deep concern" over the Venezuelan Attorney General's decision to seek the arrest of Edmundo González, a prominent opposition leader to Nicolás Maduro's regime. A joint statement with the Colombian government was released on Tuesday evening (Sep. 3).

The note emphasized that the request for González's arrest undermines the commitments made in the Barbados Accords, where the government and opposition, mediated by Norway, agreed on steps toward a democratic electoral process in Venezuela.

“The governments of Brazil and Colombia express deep concern over the arrest order issued by the Venezuelan courts on September 2 against presidential candidate Edmundo González Urrutia. This judicial measure seriously affects the commitments made by the Venezuelan government under the Barbados Accords, where both the government and opposition pledged to strengthen democracy and foster a culture of tolerance and coexistence. Moreover, it impedes efforts to find a peaceful solution through dialogue between Venezuela's main political forces,” the joint statement from Brazil and Colombia said.

The arrest order for Edmundo González was issued after he failed to appear for the third time at the Public Prosecutor's Office to explain the publication of alleged electoral minutes claiming his victory in the July 28 elections. The opposition asserts that over 80 percent of the minutes, allegedly proving González's win, have been published. However, the government accuses the opposition of falsifying more than 9,000 of these published minutes.

The Venezuelan National Electoral Council (CNE), the authority responsible for announcing election results, declared that Maduro won the election. However, it did not release the electoral records from over 30,000 polling stations. However, these documents were submitted to the courts at the beginning of August.