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Luisa Marvelia Ortega Díaz (born 11 January 1958) is a Venezuelan lawyer. Between December 2007 and August 2017, she served as the Prosecutor General of Venezuela.[1] A proponent of the Chavismo ideology,[2][3] Ortega Díaz was fired as Prosecutor General on 5 August 2017 by the Supreme Tribunal of Justice and the Constituent National Assembly (ANC) promoted by Nicolás Maduro, following a breaking with the Maduro government as a result of the 2017 Venezuelan constitutional crisis in the context of the crisis in Venezuela.[4] This dismissal was rejected by the opposition-led National Assembly of Venezuela, arguing that only that institution had the power to carry out said removal according to the Constitution, and cataloging the Prosecutor as the only legitimate authority of the Public Ministry. As a result, she is called by the National Assembly, the Supreme Tribunal of Justice of Venezuela in exile and some media outlets as the Prosecutor General of Venezuela in exile.[5]
Luisa Ortega Díaz | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Prosecutor General of Venezuela | |
| In office 13 December 2007 – 5 August 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Julián Isaías Rodríguez Diaz |
| Succeeded by | Tarek William Saab |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Luisa Marvelia Ortega Díaz 11 January 1958 Valle de la Pascua, Guárico, Venezuela |
| Residence(s) | Bogotá, Colombia |
| Alma mater | University of Carabobo |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Website | luisaortegadiaz |
Early life and career
editOrtega Díaz was born in Valle de la Pascua, in Guárico State, on 11 January 1958.
She was educated at the University of Carabobo, in Carabobo, graduating in law. She then chose to specialize in criminal law and in procedural law and moved to Caracas. She studied criminal law at the Universidad Santa María and procedural law at Andrés Bello Catholic University, both in the capital.
Ortega later became a law professor at the Universidad Santa María and still holds the title. She also served as a legal consultant to the state TV channel, Venezolana de Televisión.
Prosecutor General
editIn April 2002, Ortega joined the public prosecution service, in the Ministerio Público.[6]
She was Prosecutor General under Nicolás Maduro when arrest warrants and indictments were issued against opposition leader Leopoldo López. After her dismissal as Prosecutor General, Ortega stated that she was pressured to bring about trumped up charges against López.[7]
Ortega denounced the rupture of democracy in Venezuela when the Venezuelan Supreme Court, in a move broadly, both nationally and internationally, considered a power grab, assumed powers constitutionally attributed to the National Assembly.[8] The move was seen[by whom?] as a betrayal by the Maduro government[9][failed verification][clarification needed] and resulted in subsequent accusations by the Maduro government and the Venezuelan Supreme Court.[citation needed][clarification needed]
On 29 June 2017, the Supreme Court barred her from leaving the country and froze her assets, due to alleged "serious misconduct" in office.[10]
She was dismissed as Prosecutor General by the newly established National Constituent Assembly on 5 August 2017.[11][12]
Later life
editTarek William Saab, the replacement Prosecutor General appointed by the Constituent Assembly, stated on 16 August 2017 that Ortega and her husband, German Ferrer, operated an extortion group. The Constituent Assembly ordered their arrest the next day and the couple fled to Colombia. Ferrer said the charges were political in nature.[13]
Ortega and Ferrer fled from Venezuela by speedboat to Aruba and then flew into Colombia. Ortega stated that the Maduro government would "deprive me of my life".[14]
In late August 2017, Maduro said he was seeking an international arrest warrant for both Ortega and her husband because they had been involved in serious crimes.[15]
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ "Venezuela constitutional assembly fires chief prosecutor". Deutsche Welle. 5 August 2017.
- ^ García Marco, Daniel (19 August 2017). "Quién es Luisa Ortega, la fiscal chavista que acusó al gobierno de Venezuela de delitos de lesa humanidad y que ahora ha huido a Colombia" [Who is Luisa Ortega, the Chavista prosecutor who accused the Venezuelan government of crimes against humanity and has now fled to Colombia] (in Spanish). BBC Mundo. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
- ^ Rodríguez, Germania (11 September 2018). "Never Forget Who Luisa Ortega Díaz Used to Be". Caracas Chronicles. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
- ^ "ANC destituye a Ortega Díaz y designa a Saab como fiscal general" [ANC dismisses Ortega Díaz and appoints Saab as prosecutor general]. El Universal (in Spanish). 5 August 2017. Archived from the original on 5 August 2017. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
- ^ "Luisa Ortega Díaz: Apoyemos al nuevo presidente Juan Guaidó" [Luisa Ortega Díaz: Let's support the new president Juan Guaidó]. El Nacional (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 January 2019.
- ^ "Fiscal General de la República – Curriculum". Ministerio Público. Archived from the original on 24 June 2014. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
- ^ "Ortega Díaz en caso de Leopoldo López: Me presionó Diosdado Cabello" [Ortega Díaz on the Leopoldo López case: Diosdado Cabello pressured me]. El Nacional (in Spanish). 15 February 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
- ^ "Venezuelas top prosecutor Luisa Ortega rebukes Supreme Court power grab". The Globe and Mail. 31 March 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
- ^ "Venezuela government turns on traitor prosecutor Ortega". Reuters. 25 April 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
- ^ "Venezuela's Attorney General Barred From Leaving Country". Voice of America. 29 June 2017.
- ^ "Venezuela constitutional assembly fires chief prosecutor". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
- ^ Casey, Nicholas (5 August 2017). "Venezuela's Ousted Attorney General Retreats on a Motorbike". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
- ^ "Luisa Ortega 'fearing for her life' flees to Colombia". Al Jazeera. 19 August 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
- ^ "Deposed Venezuelan prosecutor Luisa Ortega flees country in dramatic speedboat journey". The Daily Telegraph. 19 August 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
- ^ "Venezuela seeks arrest warrant for prosecutor". BBC News. 23 August 2017. Retrieved 23 August 2017.