EU slams arrest warrant for Venezuela opposition candidate

Venezuela- EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell on Tuesday dismissed an arrest warrant issued by a Venezuelan court for opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who claims to have rightfully won July elections. "I categorically reject the arrest warrant," Borrell wrote on X. "Enough of the repression and harassment of the opposition and civil society. The will of the Venezuelan people must be respected."

Venezuela's National Electoral Council, most of whose members are friendly to incumbent Nicolas Maduro, declared him reelected to a third six-year term after July's vote -- an outcome disputed by the opposition and much of the international community. The United States, the European Union and several Latin American countries have refused to recognise the result without seeing detailed voting results. Gonzalez Urrutia, a retired diplomat who replaced opposition leader Maria Corina Machado on the ballot at the last minute, has been in hiding since shortly after the election.

Venezuela's prosecutor's office said Tuesday that the court had granted its request for a warrant for Gonzalez Urrutia for "serious crimes." Prosecutors said his alleged crimes stemmed from the opposition's insistence that Maduro and his allies stole the July 28 presidential vote.

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