The Attorney General of the Republic, Tarek William Saab was interviewed by the London BBC stressed, where he said that in Venezuela “human rights are respected” and stressed that the Venezuelan criminal process allows the reviews of measures and then the convictions or dismissals. He also highlighted the status of the alleged members of the “Aragua Train” who would have been deported and highlighted his new mission at the head of the commission in charge of the constitutional reform.
Next the full interview:
The new government of the United States wants Venezuela to charge deportened Venezuelan citizens, including the alleged members of the band of Aragua.
The Aragua train has been dismantled in this country, to the point that 50 of its main members are imprisoned and will fall on the maximum penalty, while others have an arrest warrant. But there is a terrible case and it is the case of the Guerrero child [máximo dirigente de la banda y en paradero desconocido]. He and seven collaborators in Colombia were located. The information was given to the police and military authorities of Colombia. What happened? They let them go. Let’s leave the lies. There was the warrior boy, in that house
I have said, for example, that the death of (Ronald) Ojeda (former Venezuelan opponent]third countries and Chile itself. [La Fiscalía de Chile acusa al gobierno de Venezuela de pagar por el asesinato]
We send two directors of ours based with the Chilean National Prosecutor’s Office. I communicated with the attorney general and know what happened? They did not receive it. Why did they not allow us to review the evidence of the files? Because? Because there is no more pirate prosecutor in the world than Chilean.
I have offered the US justice to cooperation within the framework of what international law establishes in a bilateral way to clarify, to resolve everything that has to do with these important issues for the security of the continent.
Speaking of human rights, international organizations such as the Inter -American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the Mission Determination of Acts for Venezuela from the United Nations have criticized the Justice System, the Prosecutor’s Office, for persecuting opponents such as Edmundo González and María Corina Machado How does it respond? Are you aligned with President Nicolás Maduro?
When we have this responsibility we have to demarcate what free enemies of this process of transformation can say that they see everything wrong.
I have been parliamentary and constituent for five years, eight years governor of the most important oil state and the country, I have been a defender of the People and this is my second period as a attorney general. What does all this say? I am a state man. I am not going to be hearing watermelons of free enemies who have wanted the destruction of my homeland, the civil war and the taking of power to deliver Venezuela to a foreign power.
What do I think? In the principle of cooperation between public authorities. Who is the Head of State? Nicolás Maduro. He is not only the head of the Executive Power, but as President of the Republic he is the Head of State, a head of state who is at the same time commander in chief of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces. What is my duty and my obligation? Coordinate with him, with public authorities, with the people, with people who come to the Public Ministry to file any complaint.
María Corina and Edmundo González are total enemies of the Venezuelan homeland and the town. While what they have offered is military invasion, foreign intervention, war called the subversion of the armed force and have absolutely failed.
As the case never put himself in law [contra González] It never closed. He left here [de Venezuela]He signed a letter saying that he literally renounced that belligerence.
After the presidential elections, more than 2,000 people were arrested and most of them were accused of terrorism, among them there were table witnesses or people who manifested against the debatable electoral results. Is this not an abuse of terrorism legislation?
To start that mission of determining the events, his period was overcome five years ago. We are not careful a mission that I describe as Mercenaria, while they do not belong to the United Nations. [La misión fue creada por el Consejo de Derechos Humanos de la ONU en 2019 y su mandato ha sido renovado en dos ocasiones]
What they write or speak is salary. What interests me is what the people say. What does the people say? That on July 29 and 30, brutal events of violence occurred. 28 people died at the hands of violent protesters, burned health centers, schools, electoral centers and demolished monuments and depending on this, a group of people were arrested.
Among the deceased there were two National Guard officials, 195 people were injured, of which 97 were police and military; and 500 goods were destroyed. That really is ashamed because their plan (of the opponents) was not to go to the elections, it was to sing fraud and promote an armed insurrection in Venezuela.
Depending on this, what did the justice system have to do? Act so that that does not trigger in a civil war, because they did not want two days of violence, but months of violence.
But there has also been reviews during all these months. We have reviewed numerous cases and have granted until this moment 1,897 measures to people detained for these acts of violence.
These reviews are not the proof that there were excesses?
At the time of shock that Venezuela lived, where peace was in check (…) the Public Ministry, the police and military forces and the ordinary criminal courts acted to avoid greater damage.
I think we act correctly and impeccably. Greater damage was avoided. It was avoided that violence will spread during August, September, October, November and December, which was what they wanted to avoid the swearing of the head of state, Nicolás Maduro, on January 10.
What guarantees are that these cases will not be indefinitely open and those people remain with their liberties restricted for long periods?
The (cases) that have to close, will close. But those who continue, will continue … The Venezuelan criminal process allows measuring reviews and then sentences or dismissals. That is underway.
In recent years, different international organizations have denounced the application of short -term forced disappearances. Is this?
That is the problem of not managing the issue of human rights scientifically. Forced disappearance is kidnapping, non -presentation before a police or judicial body of the person and its subsequent murder.
A forced disappearance does not exist. Do not start inventing things that are not a forced disappearance.
(In Venezuela) people stop because they committed punishable events and then they already want to look for the figure they don’t get. Now they want to invent a new forced disappearance figure. No, they are arrests and the people are then presented to the corresponding bodies, they are charged and the trial is made.
The countries that promote genocide and extermination in Gaza, which invaded Iraq, Libya or Afghanistan are not going to teach me. It is a double standard. As I said, it is part of the hybrid war: the use of human rights to damage the image, through the Lawfare (political use of justice), of a nation that is not part of the geopolitical orbit of the great powers of powers.
You do not consider that there are short -term forced disappearances, despite what the UN says. But the Constitution is clear if a person is detained must be taken before a judge in 48 hours and should be allowed to contact his family immediately. Why is this not fulfilled?
I already answered that, I’m not going to talk more about that, I told the time I replied: 15 minutes! (…) You ask me a question and based on the answer you ask me six rechants. No, no, no! Let’s move on to another topic.
The UN mission denounces that in Venezuela the practice of stopping relatives of opponents for their relationship is applied.
Give me the complete list, because it is talking to me in the plural.
I will mention two cases.
No, give me the complete list of relatives of opponents who did not commit punishable facts and are arrested. If you are talking about Edmundo González’s son -in -law, you are ridiculous. You have to give me 100 names.
The UN mission, in its latest report, speaks of 11 cases after the July 28 elections.
If your reference is that mission that I already qualified as salary mercenaries, then you are offending me. You are offending me by mentioning that mission every time … Give me the list. How minimal they have to be 100 for what you said. You said it was massive.
I didn’t say massive.
But give me the list, don’t give them to me, then you’re lying.
The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, warned that the complementarity route was “exhausting” and that Venezuela had not shown will to punish the crimes against humanity that has detected in the country. If the CPI prosecutor came to accuse Venezuelan officials or former officials, his office will collaborate?
We are doing justice and we do not need a transnational body to do justice for us. Just telling you that we have 3,700 police and military officials accused, more than 700 convicted. Those are concrete things about internal justice actions.
When does the Rome Statute act? When there is no internal action in the state. This is an action (the data of actions against officials involved in human rights violations). Therefore, they do not have a quality to act.
But notice, they (the CPI Prosecutor’s Office) closed the case of Colombia. (Álvaro) Uribe literally annihilated seven thousand innocent people, described them as guerrillas and were not guerrillas. It was determined that they were false positives and in the end they closed the case (…) will they use the Lawfare To attack Venezuela? We have how to answer.
But if the CPI prosecutor insisted on his position and acts against officials or former Venezuelan officials …
I am not going to advance something that has not happened. I do not advance to anything.
You participated in the process in the Supreme Court that ended with the validation of the result of 28J. Could you see the minutes of the National Electoral Council (CNE)?
Of course, after an exhaustive analysis, the magistrates concluded that the bulletins issued by the CNE fully coincided with the acts of scrutiny of the voting machines and with the records from the totalization centers, which confirmed the victory of President Maduro. There is no doubt about that.
Why has the CNE present the results and thus clear doubts?
I invite you that when you want to ask about other powers (from the State) you invite you to them.
President Maduro has re -proposed a reform to the 1999 Constitution. Why is constitutional reform and what specific aspects are planned to change?
Today’s world is not the same as 30 years ago; It has changed. There are important things that we have to modernize, but based on an important principle: the principle of progressivity in human rights. The issue of human rights (in our Constitution) is transversal; It occupies it from beginning to end, from the preamble to the final provisions, through all titles and chapters.
There is a topic that cannot be ignored: the theme of the digital era. In 1999 there were no social networks, nor artificial intelligence and we had not faced brutal sanctions policies that are part of the hybrid war.
Venezuela is the victim of an unconventional war, which uses all possible ways to destroy our nation and seize our natural wealth. Therefore, we have to seek to shield even more through the Constitution and the law to the justice system.
