Venezuelan Court has issued an arrest warrant for opposition leader
Edmundo Gonzalez amid a dispute over whether he or President
Nicolas Maduro won the country's presidential election in late July
. News of the warrant came from the country's Attorney
General's office on Monday which shared a photo of the
document with Reuters. The warrant accuses Gonzalez of conspiracy
and other crimes. Maduro spoke on state television after
news of the warrant broke calling Gonzalez a quote cowardly
man. An arrest warrant against Gonzalez would amount to
a major escalation in Maduro's government's crackdown against the opposition
following the disputed July 28 election which has included detentions
of opposition figures and protesters Venezuela's National Electoral Authority and
its top court have said Maduro won with just over
half of the votes but tales shared by the opposition
, a resounding victory for Gonzalez. The opposition along
with some Western countries and international bodies like a United
Nations panel of experts have said the vote was not
transparent and demanded publication of full tallies with some outright
decrying fraud. A Gonzalez spokesperson said they were awaiting
any notification of a warrant but made no further comment
. The opposition has denied any wrongdoing the warrant request
came hours after the Biden administration said an aircraft used
by Maduro had been confiscated in the Dominican Republic Washington
determined that its purchase violated us sanctions. While the
Venezuelan government slammed the move as an act of piracy --> .