Defense of Roland Carreño rejects charges of terrorism in Venezuela

(CNN Spanish) -

The defense of the journalist and director of the Popular Will party, Roland Carreño, rejected the charges brought against him by the Venezuelan justice this Thursday.

"They made Roland record videos saying a script that the police provided him," Carreño's lawyer Joel García told CNN when asked about the statements of the Venezuelan attorney general, Tarek William Saab, that Carreño had confessed to having committed illegal actions.

"He made several videos under duress, but none of those videos could be incorporated into the case because they were obtained illegally," Garcia warned.

The opposition party Voluntad Popular affirmed that the accusation constitutes a violation of human rights.

They reiterated that Carreño is innocent and has never carried a weapon.

They added that the prequalification of the Public Ministry "lacks all support."

Charges against Roland Carreño

A Venezuelan court decided on Thursday the deprivation of liberty of Carreño, accused of financing terrorism, conspiracy against the political form and illicit trafficking in weapons of war.

Carreño's defense participated in the hearing that began Wednesday night and ended early Thursday morning in Caracas.

"We were able to talk to him," Garcia told CNN.

"It was fine," he added.

In a statement published this Thursday, the Supreme Court of Justice reported that the investigation began on October 26 when several officials of the Bolivarian National Police (PNB) arrested Carreño, from whom an unarmed AM-15 rifle was allegedly seized. , caliber 5.56 with 17 ammunition.

According to the text of the Supreme Court, Carreño would be “in charge of making logistics payments for terrorist groups that try to destabilize internal order and suspend the upcoming parliamentary elections, for which he uses the facade of non-governmental organizations that are also used as facade to pay for the logistics of the so-called Operation Gedeón, and coordinated the financing of the logistics used in the escape plan of citizen Leopoldo López from the Spanish embassy in Venezuela, thus allowing said citizen to evade Venezuelan justice ”.

Operation Gideon

As Operation Gedeón or Macutazo there is known an alleged incursion by armed Venezuelan opponents and two US citizens who, according to the questioned government of Nicolás Maduro, had the intention of perpetrating a coup and an assassination.

According to the version of the Ministries of Interior and Defense, these six deaths occurred in the middle of a confrontation.

Garcia has denied that his client is a terrorist.

They also accused him of coordinating the financing of the logistics of the departure of the opposition leader and founder of Popular Will, Leopoldo López, from the Spanish embassy in Venezuela, "thus allowing said citizen to evade Venezuelan justice."

In a televised statement, Attorney General Tarek William Saab added that when Carreño was arrested they also allegedly found US $ 12,000 in cash and "documents with lists of people and routes to Colombia."

Without giving details, Saab alleged that "there is an enormous amount of evidence collected that is being processed" and that they have "45 days to continue investigating."

He added that after the arrest of Carreño “it is clear” that he is the alleged “person in charge of distributing money that finances groups that try to plunge Venezuela into the conflict” and that they try to prevent the parliamentary elections of December 6 from being held. .

Several members of the opposition denounced the journalist's disappearance on Tuesday, but hours later the Minister of Communication and Information, Freddy Ñáñez, announced his arrest.