Ortega Diaz, Luis

Born on January 11, 1958 in the city of Valle de la Pasqua in the Venezuelan state of Guarico . She graduated from the , located in the same state . Specialist in criminal law at the University of Santa Maria. Specialist in Procedural Law, Catholic University of Andres Bello, Caracas .

Previously, she held the position of legal adviser to the state television channel Venezuelan Television Corporation, and since April 2002 she has been working in the Prosecutor's Office of Venezuela ( Spanish Ministerio público ) ^[1] .

Attorney General

In 2007, by decision of the Venezuelan parliament, she was appointed to the post of prosecutor general of the country; in 2014 re-elected to this post ^{[approx. 1]} .

She was a strong supporter of the ruling party ( PSUV ) both during the reign of Hugo Chavez and later under President Maduro ^[2] . In 2014, she opened a case against opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez , accusing him of incitement during mass protests ^{[2] [approx. 2]} .

Break with Maduro Government

In March 2017 , consisting entirely of supporters of Maduro, decided to abolish the powers of the country's parliament, the majority of which were opposition supporters. Louise Ortega, as Attorney General, declared the decision illegal. This statement came as a complete surprise to the Maduro government. On April 19, 2017, Ortega defended the right of citizens to peaceful protests. She also accused the leadership of the human rights violations, abuse of authority, disproportionate use of force in dispersing demonstrations and torturing detainees. ^[2] In June 2017, Ortega protested President Maduro’s plan to convene the Constitutional Assembly .

The ruling party and government accused Ortega of betrayal; Socialist party officials expressed doubts about her mental health ^[2] . The Supreme Court pointed out the possibility of prosecuting Ortega on charges of “ violation of political ethics and managerial morality ”, as well as “ violation of the basic principles of the Constitution ”. The court also banned Ortega from leaving the country and froze her personal assets . In addition, the Supreme Court transferred part of Ortega’s powers to the Ombudsman , a supporter of the government. For her part, Ortega accused the government of covert surveillance by the secret police of SEBIN , and also reported threats to her family ^[2] .

On August 4, the prosecutor general accused the country's authorities of juggling the results of the elections to the Constitutional Assembly ^[3] .

On August 5, the Constitutional Assembly dismissed Louise Ortega from her post at the first meeting ^[4] . Ortega refused to acknowledge the legality of her resignation and stated ^[3] :

This is just a particular example of what awaits anyone who dares to go against this totalitarian form of government.

Emigration

After being dismissed from the post, the Attorney General went to Aruba and then to Colombia , fearing for her life ^[5] .

Husband - Herman Ferrer, politician ^[2] .

Notes

1. ↑ At that time, parliament was under the control of the ruling socialist party .
2. ↑ Lopez was found guilty and sentenced to 13 years in prison, which provoked protests from both human rights groups and leaders of many countries

Footnotes

• “Luisa Ortega: Venezuela's chief prosecutor” - BBC review article