Venezuela‘s controversial new assembly has voted to remove the country’s dissident attorney general, Luisa Ortega, after security forces surrounded the entrance to her office in Caracas.
Saturday’s dismissal came a day after the government inaugurated the new legislative body that Ortega – a one time loyalist turned vocal government critic – said was fraudulently elected.
Earlier, she denounced what she called a military “siege” on Twitter, publishing photos apparently taken from security cameras showing about 30 national guardsmen in riot gear standing outside her headquarters.
Access to the block in the city’s business district, where the building is located, was completely restricted.
Also on Saturday, foreign ministers from several South American nations gathered in Brazil for an emergency meeting to suspend Venezuela indefinitely from Mecrosur for violating its democratic norms.
Venezuela was suspended temporarily from the South American trade bloc in December.
Mercosur has no provision for expulsion.
‘Days are numbered’
Al Jazeera’s John Holman, reporting from Caracas, described Ortega as a “thorn” in President Nicolas Maduro’s side.
“Her days are numbered,” he said earlier on Saturday.
“That’s because she’s become a lone voice speaking out against the government, the Constituent Assembly and against the treatment of opposition protesters in Venezuela, some 500 of whom will be prosecuted by military tribunals instead of civilian courts.”
READ MORE: Venezuela – What is a National Constituent Assembly?
She will be replaced by Tarek William Saab, a staunch government supporter who currently serves as the nation’s ombudsman.
She had asked a local court to halt the inauguration of the 545-member Constitutional Assembly, citing allegations that the government manipulated the results of the vote that created it.
Her request was dismissed on procedural grounds and it was installed on Friday.
Members of the Constituent Assembly had announced they would fire Ortega the first chance they got.
The new body supersedes Venezuela’s opposition-controlled National Assembly. It can rewrite the constitution, re-arrange state institutions and allow Maduro to rule by decree.
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