Venezuelan Attorney General Luisa Ortega said on Monday that members of her family have been threatened and persecuted after she distanced herself from the government of Nicolás Maduro. She holds the executive responsible for what might happen to them.
The official explained that her relatives have received threats through telephone calls and that they have been harassed and persecuted.
They are being persecuted by patrols that seem to be from SEBIN (intelligence service). They send messages directly from SEBIN, which depends on the Executive,”
said Ortega.
The prosecutor clarified that she has not been threatened, but some government spokespeople have said on TV that she should go to jail.
This is a subject that they have to solve with me, not with my family. I hold the Executive responsible for any damage, injury, aggression that comes to my family,”
said the attorney general.
Last Thursday, Ortega presented before the Supreme Court of Justice an “annulment request” against the Constituent Assembly promoted by Maduro to reform the Magna Carta. She believes citizens should be consulted via referendum whether they want to modify the Constitution.
The court ruled on Monday that the official’s request was inadmissible “due to inept accumulation of claims”, prompting the prosecutor to challenge the 2015 appointment of 13 titular magistrates and 20 alternates, which took place before the opposition won the Legislative majority.
According to Ortega, she did not sign the shortlist of candidates for magistrates, which is required by law before the Parliament makes the final selection.