Luisa Ortega Díaz

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]

This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Ortega and the second or maternal family name is Díaz.
Luisa Ortega Díaz
Prosecutor General of Venezuela
Assumed office
13 December 2007
Disputed with Tarek William Saab since 5 August 2017
Preceded byJulián Isaías Rodríguez Diaz
Succeeded byTarek William Saab
Personal details
Born
Luisa Marvelia Ortega Díaz

(1958-01-11) 11 January 1958
Valle de la Pascua, Guárico, Venezuela
ResidenceBogotá, Colombia
Alma materUniversity of Carabobo
ProfessionLawyer
Websiteluisaortegadiaz.com

Early life and career

Ortega 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

In April 2002, Ortega joined the public prosecution service, in the Ministerio Público.[6]

On 13 December 2007, she was appointed Prosecutor General under President Hugo Chávez, the office often being translated by its equivalent of Attorney General. She was appointed by the Chavismo-controlled parliament, or National Assembly, for a six-year period from 2008. In December 2014, on completion of the 2008–14 term, she received authorization for a second term, from 2015–21.

She was head of the Prosecutor General under Nicolás Maduro when arrest warrants and indictments were issued against opposition leader Leopoldo López. Later on, Ortega stated that she was pressured in bringing 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 as a betrayal by the Maduro government[9] and resulted in subsequent accusations by the Maduro government and the Venezuelan Supreme Court.

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

Tarek William Saab, the replacement Chief Prosecutor appointed by the Constituent Assembly, made a statement on 16 August 2017 that former Chief Prosecutor Luisa Ortega Díaz and her husband, German Ferrer, operated an extortion group and a day later, the Constituent Assembly ordered for their arrest with the couple fleeing to Colombia. Ferrer has responded to the allegations by saying the charges are political in nature.[13]

Ortega and Ferrer fled from Venezuela by speedboat to Aruba and flew into Colombia, with Ortega stating that the Maduro government would "deprive me of my life".[14]

Maduro has said he is seeking an international arrest warrant both her and her husband declaring they had been involved in serious crimes.[15]

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See also

References
  1. "Venezuela constitutional assembly fires chief prosecutor". Deutsche Welle. 5 August 2017.
  2. 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.
  3. Rodríguez, Germania (11 September 2018). "Never Forget Who Luisa Ortega Díaz Used to Be". Caracas Chronicles. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  4. "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.
  5. "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.
  6. "Fiscal General de la República – Curriculum". Ministerio Público. Archived from the original on 24 June 2014. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  7. "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.
  8. "Venezuelas top prosecutor Luisa Ortega rebukes Supreme Court power grab". The Globe and Mail. 31 March 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  9. "Venezuela government turns on traitor prosecutor Ortega". Reuters. 25 April 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  10. "Venezuela's Attorney General Barred From Leaving Country". Voice of America. 29 June 2017.
  11. "Venezuela constitutional assembly fires chief prosecutor". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  12. "Venezuela's Ousted Attorney General Retreats on a Motorbike". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  13. "Luisa Ortega 'fearing for her life' flees to Colombia". Al Jazeera. 19 August 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
  14. "Deposed Venezuelan prosecutor Luisa Ortega flees country in dramatic speedboat journey". The Daily Telegraph. 19 August 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
  15. "Venezuela seeks arrest warrant for prosecutor". BBC News. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
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