Posted on 08/19/2017 8:44:43 AM PDT by texas booster
Venezuela's ousted chief prosecutor and her husband — two of President Nicolas Maduro's most outspoken critics — fled the country and landed Friday afternoon in Colombia.
Luisa Ortega Diaz and German Ferrer arrived in Bogota aboard a private plane traveling from Aruba, Colombian migration authorities said in a statement. The couple didn't request asylum, according to a senior Colombian official speaking on condition of anonymity because he's not authorized to discuss the politically sensitive case.
Ortega and Ferrer have long been aligned with Venezuela's ruling socialist party but recently broke with Maduro, publicly denouncing his push to convene a constitutional assembly that was installed in early August and is now going about the task of upending Venezuela's institutions.
One of the assembly's first acts was to remove Ortega and appoint one of Maduro's key allies, Tarek William Saab, as the nation's new top law enforcement officer.
On Thursday, the government-stacked Supreme Court ordered Ferrer placed under arrest, a day after Saab accused him of orchestrating a $6 million extortion ring that allegedly occurred under Ortega's watch.
Ferrer denied the accusations and many believe they are politically motivated.
In June, the Supreme Court barred Ortega from leaving the country and ordered her bank accounts frozen as part of its investigation into a complaint filed by a pro-government lawmaker that accused her of acting as an opposition leader and requested a probe into her "mental insanity." (con't) ...
(Excerpt) Read more at miamiherald.com ...
What happens when "socialism" inevitably slides into totalitarianism.
Possibly coming soon to a country you used to recognise.
Ortega told the region's prosecutors that Maduro removed her in order to stop a probe linking him and his inner circle to nearly $100 million in bribes from Brazilian construction company Odebrecht. The company last year admitted in a plea agreement with the U.S. Justice Department to paying bribes to officials throughout Latin America in exchange for lucrative contracts.
Ortega denounced the government takeover of the prosecutor's offices and said many of her colleagues have faced persecution.
“Many have had to leave the country for fear of reprisal and for their lives,” she said.
Ortega first spoke out against Maduro in late March following a Supreme Court decision to nullify the opposition-controlled congress. She denounced the decision as a “rupture” of the constitutional order. The decision was later reversed amid widespread international criticism, but sparked a protest movement that has left more than 120 dead.
Maduro and his allies have frequently lashed out against Ortega, accusing her of being part of an opposition effort to overthrow Maduro. Diosdado Cabello, the leader of Venezuela's socialist party, has repeatedly referred to her as the “traitor prosecutor.”
On the night of the constitutional assembly's election, Maduro encouraged delegates to quickly declare her office in a state of emergency and remove her from office. Within days, military officers blocked her from entering her office.
Ortega fled on the back of a motorcycle.
Good info...thanks
Good info...thanks
I don’t feel too sorry for Chavistas with buyer’s remorse. We’ve surely got a few of them applying for asylum here. I say let the ones who were active supporters remain in Venezuela, suffer with their victims, and work to undo the product of their ideology. The last thing we need is more socialists setting up shop here.
I find it very interesting that in all “socialist paradises” they degenerate into severe infighting.
Who is the “most pure and true to the revolution”?
Here you have a socialist fleeing another socialist (hell bent on killing his critics), decrying that the “democratic reforms” are failing.
There were never any democratic reforms, just more consolidation of power amongst the Chavistas.
Could not agree more. If anything, anyone actively involved in what happened in Venezuela should be jailed for mass theft and held responsible for all the deaths. If you torch your own house, you should not be rewarded by being allowed to live in someone else’s.
Shouldn’t we let them stew in their juices? When they’re ready there will be less turning back. Freed holocaust survivors died from overeating when freed. Let them change on their own with no ‘pressure’. On the other hand fanning the flames thru social media is fair game.
[— two of President Nicolas Maduro’s most outspoken critics — fled the country]
I’m surprised Maduro hadn’t killed them yet. They probably expected it was coming soon.
Colombia, Miami - can anyone think that those places are safe for anyone on Maduro’s death list?
Probably not. I don’t know much about Barry Seal but supposedly Pablo Escobar’s men got to him.
Don’t really know if that’s accurate.
As Obama said, “Yes we did”!
But what will happen the the little league world series and the pretty women in all the Venezuelan pageants?
Odebrcht bump
Last month, Panamanian prosecutors raided the offices of Mossack Fonseca, seeking possible links to Brazilian engineering company Odebrecht. The Brazilian construction firm has admitted to bribing officials in Panama and other countries to obtain contracts in the region between 2010 and 2014. Ramon Fonseca, a partner at Mossack Fonseca, denied last month that his firm had a connection to Odebrecht, while accusing Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela of directly receiving money from Odebrecht, Latin America’s largest engineering company. Varela has denied that he took any money from Odebrecht.: Panama Papers law firm Mossack Fonseca to shut down after tax scandal
he Brazilian government was and still is in a struggle to emphasize accountability in the realm of money laundering and illicit finance flows; this endeavor has proved cumbersome as off shore tax havens have and continue to provide a refuge for the funds of fraudulent companies such as Odebrecht and unethical individuals. The abuse of offshore tax havens by the Brazilian political elite, by the “outing” of the Panama Papers as well as the use of OFCs (Offshore Financial Centers) by Odebrecht has forced the Brazilian government to take action and stem the flow of illicit finance.: From The Panama Papers To Odebrecht: Illicit Financial Flows From Brazil
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