Ex-general formally charged by Venezuelan court in post-election crackdown on opposition

Published January 13, 2015

Venezuelan authorities say a judge has ordered the continued detention of a dissident former general who is accused of inciting post-election unrest.

Opposition leaders say the charges against retired Gen. Antonio Rivero are part of a crackdown by a government trying to quash dissent after its narrow April 14 presidential election victory.

Rivero's arrest was announced Saturday. The attorney general's office says he was charged with criminal instigation and criminal association by a court Monday.

Rivero's brother, Jose Vicente Rivero, says the retired general is on a hunger strike in protest.

Opposition candidate Henrique Capriles says separately that President Nicolas Maduro's government has cut off federal funding to the state of Miranda, which Capriles governs. Capriles calls that a violation of the human rights of the state government's 37,000 employees.

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https://www.foxnews.com/world/ex-general-formally-charged-by-venezuelan-court-in-post-election-crackdown-on-opposition