Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab. Photo: Miguel Gutiérrez/EFE.
The attorney general of Venezuela, Tarek Willian Saab, criticized the “hysterical and distorted statements of Chilean government spokespersons” regarding the murder of former Venezuelan military official Ronald Ojeda in Chile.
Venezuelan Attorney General Saab made this comment on Friday, June 14, criticizing that he had not received the necessary cooperation from the Chilean judicial authorities for the investigation of the homicide. As a response, Chilean Foreign Minister Van Klaveren was instructed by President Gabriel Boric to send “a note of protest” to Venezuela.
Meanwhile, Chilean Attorney General Ángel Valencia has stated that he has not received any formal communication from the Office of the Attorney General of Venezuela. According to Chilean media, he added that the case “is properly of the jurisdiction of Venezuelan authorities and not of Chilean authorities.”
Subsequently, some Chilean officials have claimed that the Venezuelan Attorney General’s Office “did not want to cooperate,” a claim that was firmly rejected by Saab this Friday.
Venezuelan attorney general dismantles Chilean claims
Attorney General Tarek William Saab dismantled the Chilean claims, qualifying them as “hysterical and distorted. With their usual foul language, they are lying again about the Ojeda case. This time, they claim that the Venezuelan Attorney General’s Office has not wanted to cooperate with the investigation related to this unfortunate homicide.”
el @MinpublicoVEN
en torno a las histéricas y distorsionadas declaraciones oficiales de voceros gubernamentales chilenos, en donde a través de su acostumbrado lenguaje soez vuelven a mentir en relación al #CasoOjeda: esta vez para decir que la Fiscalía Venezolana no… pic.twitter.com/ptme7xKLOm— Tarek William Saab (@TarekWiliamSaab) June 14, 2024
He clarified the following points in a post on his X account:
1) As the principal body of the Citizen Power of Venezuela, we are obliged to make public our response to the Office of the Attorney General of Chile, which was sent in a timely manner through the regular channels.
2) The information that our country was requested to provide came through two mechanisms:
(a) Request for Inter-Institutional Cooperation (AIAMP mechanism), received on 09/04/2024 [April 9, 2024] through e-mail, which was answered on 18/04 [April 18] and 23/04/2024 [April 23, 2024].
b) Request for Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters, received on 15/04 [April 15] via e-mail and 18/04/2024 [April 18, 2024] via diplomatic channels. A response was sent on 29/05/2024 [May 29, 2024].
3) Additionally, two extensions were received from the ICS on 30/04 [April 30], which we answered on 29/05 [May 29].
4) The information requested and provided in a timely manner included immigration reports and biographical and biometric data of Walter Rodriguez and Maickel Villegas, who are alleged by the Chilean Attorney General’s Office as the main perpetrators of the crime. Some of that information is also being public in this post.
5) Finally, I confirm that, under our administration, the Venezuelan Attorney General’s Office will continue to fully comply with our obligations to combat transnational crime in all its forms, based on what is established in the mechanisms of international criminal cooperation and international law.
With this post, Saab added the official response sent by his office to the Chilean authorities.
(Últimas Noticias) by Aura Torrealba
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/SC/SF
