Venezuela's Attorney General, Tarek William Saab, issued this Thursday (2) an arrest and extradition order against Leopoldo López and Julio Borges, two of Nicolás Maduro's biggest opponents. Both were exiled and are accused of receiving benefits worth more than US$1 billion.
Saab showed a video during a press conference showing businessman Samark López, who is in prison accused of collaborating with the also detained Tareck El Aissami, the former president of Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), who is said to be involved in a known corruption network like PDVSA-crypto.
In the video, the businessman says that the two Venezuelan contractors involved in the alleged corruption network “have a direct connection” with López and Borges.
A CNN was unable to verify how and on what date the recording was made and contacted the Prosecutor's Office for more details. The Venezuelan Public Ministry usually presents video statements in cases of high political sensitivity.
A CNN also tries to contact Samark López's lawyer to find out his position on the video published by Venezuelan authorities and the accusations against the businessman.
Leopoldo López, co-founder of the Primero Justiça party, was arrested in 2014 during a wave of protests against the government of Nicolás Maduro, where 43 people died. He was sentenced to more than 13 years in prison in 2015.
López was found guilty of the crimes of public instigation and criminal association, in a judicial process that was questioned by the defense and several international organizations. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.
In 2017, Venezuelan authorities allowed him to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest, but in 2019 he abandoned his residence when he attempted a civil-military uprising with opposition leader Juan Guaidó.
López subsequently sought refuge at the Spanish embassy in Caracas and moved to Madrid in 2020, where he currently lives.
In the case of the opposition leader, Julio Borges, who was coordinator of the First Justice party, the Venezuelan Attorney General's Office issued, in 2023, an arrest order for alleged betrayal of the country, conspiracy and association with the military uprising in April 2019.
Prior to this, Borges already had two arrest warrants against him for corruption and planning and financing an alleged assassination attempt against President Maduro in August 2018. Colombia granted him political asylum in 2018. Borges currently lives in Spain.
A CNN contacted the legal representatives of Borges and López and is awaiting their response.
Source: CNN Brasil
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