Venezuelan attorney general floats charging top opposition leader Machado with murder

Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab said that top opposition leaders could be charged with murder as the fallout from the country's elections continues.

In an interview with a local outlet, Saab, a close ally of President Nicolás Maduro, said María Corina Machado and Edmundo González Urrutia coordinated attacks against the government with several American administrations going back as far as Donald Trump's.

He went on to say that his office is investigating protests that followed the July 28 elections, in which the government claimed victory but has not presented any supporting documentation to back this, with most of the international community not recognizing the results.

Saab said that protests were planned by the "far right," which he claims Machado heads, and added that "at any moment, any of them could be charged and held responsible as the intellectual authors of all these events."

Saab has been sanctioned by the U.S. for offenses ranging from human rights violations to corruption and drug trafficking. He is one of Venezuela's most high-profile figures and prone to controversial statements, recently saying that protesters hurt by police repression used ketchup to simulate blood.

He also said that the thousands of people detained during the protests are "actually good because they cleanse society, they show who are the ones with this sick mentality and who are the ones who don't want any of this."

As of August 18, NGO Foro Penal reported that over 1,500 people have been arrested since the protests began on July 29. The figure includes 129 teenagers aged between 14 and 17 and 18 people with disabilities. "We are still getting, checking and processing reports," said NGO Vicepresident Gonzalo Himiob. Figures close to Maduro are reporting even higher figures, saying they are closer to 2,000.

Opposition members and supporters keep on protesting more than three weeks on. Over 300 cities across the world saw events of the kind last Saturday, with representatives demanding Maduro release electoral documents and cease the repression.

"We proved to ourselves that Venezuela is united. From the farmer who screamed along with his family in the Andes to the tens of thousands who flooded cities across five continents, there is no time or distance that can keep us apart," Machado said.

"We've accomplished another goal in our strategy. There are further steps and new victories," she added.