on Monday night issued a communiqué in which it strongly rejects the arrest warrant issued by the Judge of the First Special Court of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice of Venezuela against presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia.
A Venezuelan court specializing in terrorism-related crimes issued an arrest warrant against opposition leader Gonzalez Urrutia on Monday, less than an hour after the Prosecutor's Office had requested it.
Gonzalez Urrutia was the presidential candidate of the largest anti-Chavez bloc in elections on July 28.
"This intimidation demonstrates, once again, the disregard for the popular will and the intensification of government repression. Once again, Peru reiterates that it will continue to support the Venezuelan people in their struggle for democracy and freedom," reads the communiqué.
The Venezuelan Prosecutor's Office had asked a court specializing in terrorism crimes to issue an arrest warrant against the standard-bearer of the largest opposition coalition, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, for his "alleged commission of crimes of usurpation of functions" and "forgery of public documents" related to the electoral records dated July 28.