Venezuela issues arrest warrant for presidential candidate Edmundo González Urrutia

The Venezuelan Prosecutor's Office has issued an arrest warrant for Edmundo González Urrutia, a presidential candidate, after he failed to respond to three summons to testify regarding allegations of electoral fraud. He faces multiple charges, including usurpation of functions and forgery of public documents, linked to the publication of voting records that the opposition claims indicate irregularities in Nicolás Maduro's electoral victory. Urrutia, who has been in hiding for over a month, criticized the prosecutor's actions as politically motivated and lacking due process. In a recent social media post, Urrutia called for the release of detained protesters and expressed his readiness to engage in discussions about a peaceful transition of power. His absence from the summons and previous court appearances has raised suspicions about the government's intentions, as authorities have yet to provide detailed voting figures that could validate the election results. The situation has intensified tensions between the government and opposition figures, with María Corina Machado, a prominent opposition leader, asserting that the government's actions only serve to unite and strengthen support for Urrutia. The government has accused both Urrutia and Machado of various crimes, including conspiracy and instigating a coup, without presenting substantial evidence. The investigation is centered on the website Resultados Con Vzla, where the opposition shared voting records collected by witnesses. Despite the records being public documents, the Prosecutor's Office has preemptively labeled them as false, raising concerns about the integrity of the electoral process and the government's commitment to transparency.