María Corina Machado and Antonio Ledezma giving statements to the press in 2015. File photo.
A fugitive from Venezuelan justice and international advisor to María Corina Machado’s primaries campaign, Antonio Ledezma, confirmed Machado’s strategy to promote a military rebellion to force her registration if she wins the opposition primaries, scheduled for October 20.
In an interview this Sunday, August 20, Ledezma said that only with the “impulse of a process of civil disobedience will they be able to handle the exclusion of Machado’s candidacy by the National Electoral Council (CNE).” He immediately elaborated on the military option.
“The only way to be able to carry out the registration of a woman who is being vetoed by the regime is to launch civil disobedience,” emphasized the far-right politician from Miami.
During the interview, Ledezma, also the former mayor of Caracas, confirmed the violent plans that Machado has been making since she began her campaign as a candidate for the opposition primary elections.
Ledezma confessed that they are in talks with the military for a possible “societal uprising” to fight for the registration of Machado in the CNE.
He specified that Machado, with her motto “until the end,” means that she will not allow herself to be subjected to the rules imposed by the Venezuelan judiciary. Given this, he confirmed that a rebellion would be necessary.
🔵 Antonio Ledezma: estamos hablando con militares y piden que no digamos su nombre.
🗣️ "La única forma de llevar a cabo la inscripción de María Corina es por medio de la desobediencia civil".
📌 Entrevista @FactoresdePoder pic.twitter.com/N1zYLPasYf
— 𝙋𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙖 (@polianalitica) August 20, 2023
Only hours after making Machado’s political strategy to be able to register her candidacy for the 2024 presidential elections very clear, Ledezma retracted his statement.
Although he initially suggested the possibility of a military uprising, he later published a video denying his own statements.
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“A decontextualized version of some statements made last Friday in the Factores De Poder channel is being circulated,” Ledezma said. “I categorically deny the headlines claiming we are promoting a military rebellion. I clearly said civil disobedience to fulfill the legitimate right to register the candidacy of María Corina Machado.”
He stated, “they are not asking the military to rise up, but to abide by their constitutional and legal duties.”
#Urgente ¡MARIA CORINA LE "JALO" LAS OREJAS, PERO ÉL LO CONFIRMO!
Ledezma dijo ¿"hablar con militares es rebelión"?
El prófugo de la justicia Antonio Ledezma hizo graves aseveraciones contra la dirigente de Vente, que la involucran en un golpe de Estado. pic.twitter.com/s8TBOYVIL4
— Michel Caballero Palma (@MichelCaballero) August 21, 2023
Ledezma added that Machado’s contact with the military takes place in the streets and public areas. However, this differs from the show that Machado, the president of Vente Venezuela, has put on at every security checkpoint, where she attacks security agents for doing their work while being filmed.
(RedRadioVE) by Ana Perdigón, with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SF
