Venezuelan Attorney General Summons Juan Guaido Over Coup Plot

The Attorney General of Venezuela, Tarek William Saab, announced on Tuesday that the Public Ministry of the Bolivarian Republic issued an official summons to the self-proclaimed 'president' Juan Guaidó to appear before the court this Thursday at 9:00 a.m. (local time).

The objective is for him to appear before the prosecutor who is handling the case for the attempted coup d'état and assassination of government officials. He has been implicated over the accusations made in recent days by Clíver Alcalá Cordones.

On March 23, an arsenal of weapons was seized in Colombian territory that was to be illegally transferred to Venezuela to be used against the authorities by assault groups previously trained in Colombia.

From Barranquilla, Alcalá publicly confessed his participation in the event and assured that he had Guaidó's instructions. Likewise, the agreement for the purchase of arms was signed by the opposition deputy and political adviser JJ Rendón.

At a press conference, Saab said investigation MP69482-2020 was opened and two national prosecutors were appointed to process the items gathered in the police records.

In this case, the arrest warrants against Alcalá Cordones and Antonio José Sequera Torres were agreed upon. Therefore, they have been charged with crimes of treason against the homeland, illicit trafficking in weapons of war, terrorism, attempted assassination and association.

"In the face of all this, Colombian justice leaves the judicial authorities of that country to act in a totally embarrassing situation," said the attorney general. Saab noted that in Colombia a foreigner (Alcalá Cordones) confessed to various crimes and no authority made the decision to arrest him.

"In the midst of all this, he was not even the subject of a subsequent investigation and the opening as a detainee of a criminal prosecution," Saab said.

In addition, Alcalá was allowed to leave the country supported by foreign authorities without any legal process. "It seems that the U.S. authorities can arrest anyone in Colombia without the participation of the Colombian justice. A fact that shows that Colombia is a colony attached to the United States, Saab said.

According to Saab, in the U.S., Alcalá would have no legal status or entity of any kind to change the version it gave in Barranquilla, where it is declared confessed to the attempted assassination.

“That country is an interested party. A contractor appears, an American mercenary linked to the fact. Whoever is an interested party in the commission of a crime cannot equally manage the means of evidence, ”said the prosecutor.

He also referred to the inability of the Duque administration's judicial system to stop the assassinations of social leaders and the wave of violence that floods the country.