Fleeing Maduro critic says life in danger

BRASÍLIA: Venezuela's fugitive former top prosecutor resurfaced in Brazil on Wednesday claiming to possess "a lot" of proof of President Nicolas Maduro's corruption and to warn that her life remains in danger.
Days after a dramatic escape from chaotic Venezuela, Luisa Ortega, 59, turned up the heat on Maduro, who in turn asked Interpol to put out a "red notice" arrest warrant for his critic.
Ortega — speaking at a crime-fighting conference in the Brazilian capital with representatives from the Latin American regional trading alliance Mercosur — said Maduro enriched himself in a massive corruption scheme uncovered at Brazilian construction conglomerate Odebrecht.
"I have a lot of proof, concretely in the Odebrecht case, which implicates many high ranking Venezuelans, starting with the president of the republic," she said.
"The rule of law has died" under Maduro, she said.
Ortega, who fled Venezuela with her husband German Ferrer last Friday and flew into Brasilia from Panama late Tuesday, said she was still in danger.
"I have received threats that there may be an attempt against my life and I hold the Venezuelan government responsible if this happens," she told the conference.
Brazil's prosecutor general said in a statement that he had personally invited Ortega, adding to the intrigue surrounding her fate since being fired by Venezuela's socialist president this month and charged with misconduct.
On Tuesday, Maduro said Ortega and Ferrer had committed "serious crimes" and should be apprehended. Ferrer is accused by Maduro's government of corruption and extortion.
However, neighbouring Columbia and Brazil have both firmly condemned Maduro's handling of violent political unrest and economic collapse in his oil-rich country. Venezuela has been suspended indefinitely from the Mercosur group.
"This highlights the split between Venezuela and the majority of the neighbouring countries," foreign policy expert Mauricio Santoro, at the Rio de Janeiro State University, said.
Santoro said the Odebrecht allegations in Brasilia would have particular resonance in the regional setting, given the company's vast reach and the ever-expanding list of corruption suspects.
Allegations and anxiety
A loyalist of late socialist president Hugo Chavez, Ortega broke ranks with his successor Maduro to become his most high-ranking domestic critic as international pressure on the president mounted.
Last month, Maduro set up a new constitutional body packed with his allies, which a few days later removed Ortega from her post.
She hit back on Friday by claiming she had evidence implicating Maduro and his close allies in the Odebrecht scandal, which involved enormous quantities of bribes paid to politicians around the region and in Brazil to win contracts.
"They are very worried and anxious, because they know we have details on all the cooperation, amounts and people who got rich," Ortega told a meeting of Latin American prosecutors in Mexico by video conference.
"And that investigation involves Mr Nicolas Maduro and his inner circle."
Maduro counter-attacked on Sunday, alleging on television that Ortega had received money for blocking corruption investigations that he had ordered.
Maduro was elected in 2013 after the death of his late mentor Chavez.
Venezuela has since descended into chaos that has raised fears for regional stability.
The fall in world prices for its oil exports has left it short of dollars for vital imports.
Maduro's critics accuse him of clinging to power by hijacking state institutions amid shortages of food and medicine.
Clashes between protesters and police this year have left 125 people dead, according to prosecutors. — AFP