By Lisandra Paraguassu
BRASILIA/CARACAS (Reuters) -Brazil’s high international coverage adviser on Tuesday slammed Venezuela’s arrest warrant for opposition chief Edmundo Gonzalez as “very concerning” and stated there was a transparent “authoritarian escalation” within the nation.
Different international locations across the Americas, together with the US, Argentina and Peru, additionally condemned the transfer.
The Venezuelan legal professional basic’s workplace stated on Monday {that a} courtroom had issued an arrest warrant for Gonzalez, the opposition’s erstwhile presidential candidate, accusing him of conspiracy and different crimes amid a dispute over whether or not he or President Nicolas Maduro received the July 28 election.
Brazilian international coverage adviser Celso Amorim stated in an interview with Reuters that if Venezuelan authorities do undergo with Gonzalez’s arrest, “It would be a political arrest, and we do not accept (there should be) political prisoners.
“There isn’t a denying that there’s an authoritarian escalation in Venezuela. We don’t really feel openness to dialogue, there’s a very robust response to any remark,” Amorim said, while adding that Brazil still held out hope for a solution to the crisis.
Later, the Brazilian and Colombian governments in a joint statement said they were profoundly concerned about the issue of the arrest warrant.
Washington also criticized the warrant, which followed weeks of comments from Venezuelan government officials that Gonzalez and other members of the opposition should be jailed.
“That is simply one other instance of Mr. Maduro’s efforts to keep up energy by pressure and to refuse to acknowledge that Mr. Gonzalez received essentially the most votes on the twenty eighth of July,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby (NYSE:) told reporters.
“We’re contemplating a variety of choices to display to Mr. Maduro and his representatives that their actions in Venezuela may have penalties,” Kirby said.
A statement is expected from Gonzalez later on Tuesday.
“He has not requested asylum, he has not requested to be handled as a visitor in any embassy,” Gonzalez’s lawyer Jose Vicente Haro told journalists outside the opposition leader’s residence in Caracas.
“He isn’t at his residence in an effort to protect his freedom, his safety, his life and to protect the desire of the Venezuelan folks,” Haro added.
Ruling social gathering officers together with Maduro have accused the opposition of stoking violence, commanding fascist teams and dealing on the behest of imperialist pursuits overseas.
Prison probes have been launched into opposition chief Maria Corina Machado and into the opposition’s vote tally web site, whereas a number of main opposition figures have been detained.
Venezuela’s nationwide electoral authority and its high courtroom have stated Maduro was the winner of the election with simply over half of the votes, however tallies shared by the opposition present a convincing victory for the opposition.
Brazil and different international locations have demanded publication of full voting tallies.