Venezuela’s attorney general, Tarek William Saab, held a press conference this Monday (29) in which he sought to associate the opposition to dictator Nicolás Maduro with corruption at the state-owned oil company PDVSA.
According to information from the website Efecto Cocuyo, Saab, whose activities serve Maduro’s political interests, accused the leaders of the Primero Justicia (PJ) party Carlos Ocariz and Julio Borges and two other opposition leaders, Carlos Vecchio and Leopoldo López, of having links with the former Minister of Oil and former Venezuelan Vice President Tareck El Aissami and businessman Samark López, both arrested on the 9th.
He claimed that this “plot” was not just corruption, but a conspiracy against Maduro. “It was not just moral corruption, but also political corruption that led them to ally with the country’s worst enemies,” Saab said.
Ocariz was the target last week of a decision by the General Comptroller of Venezuela that made him ineligible for 15 years. The first vice-president of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (Psuv) and number 2 of Chavismo, Diosdado Cabello, called this Monday for political disqualifications to be accompanied by criminal actions against Venezuelan opponents.
“Why doesn’t the opposition say anything about the PDVSA-Cripto case? Because they are involved, the entire right is compromised. It’s a big conspiracy against our country, the right doesn’t rest, they’re always the same. We support the investigation, no matter who falls,” Cabello said, also at a press conference.
Julio Borges responded to Saab’s accusations. “Tarek William Saab, you will leave power with the unity and vote of the people. You are corrupt and liars. We, Venezuelans, will continue fighting so that you do not continue destroying Venezuela. Today, more than ever, unity and voting, we will achieve this on July 28th”, he wrote in X, citing the date of the presidential election in Venezuela.
At an event in the United States, Leopoldo López accused the Venezuelan dictatorship of being “always inventing and trying to divert attention”.