The National Assembly of Venezuela (AN, Parliament), controlled by Chavismo, accepted this Wednesday, February 25, the resignation of Attorney General Tarek William Saab, whom activists and opponents have linked to Human Rights violations, but immediately appointed him on an interim basis as ombudsman, a position he already held between 2014 and 2017. The AN appointed Larry Devoe, a lawyer with experience in diplomatic positions, as acting attorney general.
First modification: 02/25/2026 - 23:09 Last modification: 02/26/2026 - 01:00
The Attorney General of Venezuela, Tarek William Saab, and the Ombudsman, Alfredo Ruiz, submitted their resignation to the National Assembly (Parliament), controlled by Chavismo, on February 25, and the former was appointed as defender in charge, amid the changes after the approval of the amnesty law.
After Saab's resignation, the Legislature appointed the lawyer specializing in Human Rights and pro-Chavismo Larry Daniel Devoe as the attorney general in charge.
Saab, 63, served for nearly nine years after being appointed in 2017, presiding over the government's response to several major corruption scandals, and carrying out arrests of some well-known opposition figures and protesters who human rights groups said were unjustly detained.
Saab, a poet with published works and numerous tattoos, has always denied that the government holds political prisoners and told Reuters this month that he hopes an amnesty law approved by the legislature after the interview will guarantee a "100% pacified" country.
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"I call them prisoners, I don't give them any additional labels," Saab told Reuters this month. "They are detained for actions that were documented at the time."
The claims were a repeat of ones he made in 2024, before thousands of people were arrested for participating in protests amid a contested presidential election.
"The National Assembly received communications addressed to Deputy Jorge Rodríguez Gómez, president of this legislature, signed: firstly, by citizen Tarek William Saab, through which he presents his resignation from the position of Attorney General of the Republic; and secondly, by citizen Alfredo Ruiz Angulo, through which he presents his resignation from the position of Ombudsman," reported the secretary of the Assembly, María Alejandra Hernández.
With Reuters and EFE
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