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Luisa Ortega Díaz | |
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| Prosecutor General of Venezuela | |
| In office 13 December 2007 – 5 August 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Julián Isaías Rodríguez Diaz |
| Succeeded by | Tarek William Saab |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Luisa Marvelia Ortega Díaz (1958-01-11)11 January 1958 (age 67) Valle de la Pascua,Guárico,Venezuela |
| Residence(s) | Bogotá, Colombia |
| Alma mater | University of Carabobo |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Website | luisaortegadiaz |
Luisa Marvelia Ortega Díaz (born 11 January 1958) is a Venezuelan lawyer. Between December 2007 and August 2017, she served as the Prosecutor General ofVenezuela.[1] A proponent of theChavismo ideology,[2][3] Ortega Díaz was fired as Prosecutor General on 5 August 2017 by theSupreme Tribunal of Justice and theConstituent National Assembly (ANC) promoted byNicolás Maduro, following a breaking with the Maduro government as a result of the2017 Venezuelan constitutional crisis in the context of thecrisis in Venezuela.[4] This dismissal was rejected by the opposition-ledNational Assembly of Venezuela, arguing that only that institution had the power to carry out said removal according to theConstitution, and cataloging the Prosecutor as the only legitimate authority of the Public Ministry. As a result, she is called by the National Assembly, theSupreme Tribunal of Justice of Venezuela in exile and some media outlets as the Prosecutor General of Venezuela in exile.[5]
Ortega Díaz was born inValle de la Pascua, inGuárico State, on 11 January 1958.
She was educated at the University of Carabobo, inCarabobo, graduating in law. She then chose to specialize in criminal law and in procedural law and moved toCaracas. She studied criminal law at theUniversidad Santa María and procedural law atAndrés 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.
In April 2002, Ortega joined the public prosecution service, in theMinisterio Público.[6]
She was Prosecutor General underNicolás Maduro when arrest warrants and indictments were issued against opposition leaderLeopoldo López. After her dismissal as Prosecutor General, Ortega stated that she was pressured to bring about trumped up charges against López.[7]
Ortega denounced the rupture ofdemocracy 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][failed verification][clarification needed] and resulted in subsequent accusations by the Maduro government and the Venezuelan Supreme Court.[citation needed][clarification needed]
On 29 June 2017, the Supreme Court barred her from leaving the country andfroze her assets, due to alleged "serious misconduct" in office.[10][11][12]
She was dismissed as Prosecutor General by the newly establishedNational Constituent Assembly on 5 August 2017.[13][14]
Tarek William Saab, the replacement Prosecutor General appointed by the Constituent Assembly, stated on 16 August 2017 that Ortega and her husband, German Ferrer, operated an extortion group. The Constituent Assembly ordered their arrest the next day and the couple fled to Colombia. Ferrer said the charges were political in nature.[15]
Ortega and Ferrer fled from Venezuela by speedboat toAruba and then flew into Colombia. Ortega stated that the Maduro government would "deprive me of my life".[16]
In late August 2017, Maduro said he was seeking an international arrest warrant for both Ortega and her husband because they had been involved in serious crimes.[17]
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