Venezuela launches investigation against opposition leaders amid protest crackdown

By Vivian Sequera and Mircely Guanipa

CARACAS (Reuters) -Venezuela is launching a criminal probe against the opposition leaders contesting last month's election for inciting police and military officials to break the law, the country's top prosecutor said, as security forces targeted people they say committed violent crimes during recent election protests.

The announcement by attorney general Tarek Saab followed a letter posted on social network X by opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez and leader Maria Corina Machado calling for security forces to "stand by the people" and respect the results of the election they say they won.

President Nicolas Maduro's assertion that he won a third term in the July 28 vote has triggered angry protests from Venezuelans across the country over the last week, demanding that Maduro step down and a Gonzalez win be honored.

Venezuelan security forces have begun targeting alleged perpetrators of violent crimes during the protests, in an operation informally called "knock-knock" that advocacy groups say has left protesters fearful.

Three advocacy groups told Reuters security forces are working intensely to capture protesters, including minors, who they said are not being provided with lawyers and who have in some cases been charged with terrorism.

Maduro and other officials have touted "knock-knock" as a means of targeting those behind violence at the protests, who they have described as "fascist criminals."

"Operation knock-knock is the name given by certain government spokespeople, informally, to the escalating repression," said Gonzalo Himiob, vice president of legal advocacy group Foro Penal.

"It's called knock-knock because that's the bang on the door you get in the early hours of the morning," he said.

PROTEST ARRESTS

Venezuela's electoral authority, who the opposition says favors the ruling socialists, has said Maduro was reelected with around 51% of the vote, beating Gonzalez.

The opposition says its own detailed tally shows Gonzalez likely received 67% of the vote, winning by a margin of nearly 4 million votes, and earning more than double Maduro's support, a result in line with independent exit polls.

Russia and China - among others - have congratulated Maduro as the election winner, but most Western countries have demurred, calling for the full release of voting results.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said last week there was "overwhelming evidence" of the victory of Gonzalez and that Washington recognized him as the winner of Sunday's election.

In answer to a question on Monday as to whether the U.S. was ready to recognize an interim president the way it did in 2019 with Juan Guaido, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said: "That's not a step that we are taking today."

Venezuela's next presidential term is due to start in January 2025.

Maduro told supporters on Saturday that some 2,000 people had been arrested during the protests.

Foro Penal said on Monday that it has confirmed 1,010 arrests and U.S.-based Human Rights Watch has reported at least 20 people have been killed.

In the joint letter signed on Monday, Gonzalez and Machado, a popular opposition leader, wrote: "We are appealing to the conscience of the military and the police and asking them to stand at the side of the people and of their own families."

But the military has long been loyal to Maduro.

"I'm willing to do anything and I am counting on you to ensure order prevails," Maduro told them in a broadcast on state television on Sunday.

Venezuela's government is taking a hardline approach, moving quickly, to make sure it holds on to power, advocacy groups said.

"Staying in power means neutralizing and crushing social discontent," said Oscar Murillo, coordinator for local rights group Provea.

The attorney general's office has denied those arrested were protesters, instead labeling them as violent criminals behind acts of vandalism, including tearing down statues of late president Hugo Chavez, Maduro's mentor.

Two members of the military have been killed, according to Venezuelan authorities.

Later on Monday, Maduro said he would leave social media messaging application WhatsApp for Telegram, encouraging others to do the same, and saying the app was being used to threaten the families of soldiers and police officers.

(Reporting by Tibisay Romero, Mircely Guanipa and Vivian SequeraAdditional reporting by Simon Lewis in WashingtonWriting by Oliver Griffin and Sarah MorlandEditing by Christian Plumb and Rosalba O'Brien)