VENEZUELA-Top Prosecutor Launches Criminal Investigation Into Opposition

Venezuela's top prosecutor, Attorney General Tarek William Saab, has announced a criminal investigation into opposition leaders Maria Corina Machado and Edmundo González. The case involves an openletter sent by the pair calling for the country's armed forces to turn on President Nicolas Maduro, claiming that they had won an 'avalanche' victory in the 28 July presidential election. Saab said the two opposition figures had “falsely announced a winner of the presidential election other than the one proclaimed by the National Electoral Council, the only body qualified to do so [and openly incited] police and military officials to disobey the laws.”

• The situation in the oil-rich nation remains tense more than a week after the vote. Several countries, including the United States, have recognised Gonzalez as the legitimate winner of the vote, while according to the electoral council - linked closely to the gov't - Maduro won with 51% of the vote.
• However, despite recognising Gonzalez as the winner France24 reports, "In answer to a question on Monday as to whether the US was ready to recognize an interim president the way it did in 2019 with Juan Guaido, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said: "That's not a step that we are taking today.""
• At present the armed forces have shown no sign of abandoning Maduro, making his continued governance more likely than not, at least in the short term. The risk of further civil unrest, which could impact surrounding countries due to increased migrant flows, remains a tail risk.