On Wednesday, the National Assembly (AN, Parliament) of Venezuela swore in Larry Devoe as the Attorney General and Tarek William Saab as the Acting Public Defender, respectively, as the Legislative begins the process of selecting officials to hold those positions permanently. The brief ceremony took place after the Parliament announced that Saab had resigned as Attorney General without specifying the reasons, just as Alfredo Ruiz had resigned from the Public Defender's Office for personal, family, and health reasons, according to a letter he sent to the AN's board of directors. Devoe swore to work 'without rest' to help consolidate a justice system that is 'up to' the Venezuelan people. 'A justice system that leaves behind the stigmas and discrimination that have been inherited historically,' the lawyer stated during the swearing-in ceremony broadcast on the state channel Venezolana de Televisión (VTV). Similarly, Saab swore to be 'once again up to an important responsibility,' recalling that he took over the Attorney General's Office in 'an extremely difficult time' in 2017, when the Venezuelan opposition was protesting in the streets for about three months. The now interim Public Defender said he contributed to maintaining 'democratic coexistence' and peace in the face of 'aggressions never seen in the country's recent history.' Both Saab and Ruiz Angulo had been ratified as Attorney General and Public Defender in October 2024, for a seven-year term, that is, until 2031. Saab, who has also been a governor supported by chavism, came to the Attorney General's Office in 2017 by appointment of the plenipotentiary National Constituent Assembly, a forum made up exclusively of defenders of Nicolás Maduro's government. The resignations of Saab and Ruiz Angulo come amid the amnesty process that was approved last Thursday by the Parliament, which will allow for the release of political prisoners from 1999 to the present, although the law only contemplates 13 'events' that occurred in 13 years. The interim president requested on the same day of the approval of the Amnesty Law that the follow-up commission review 'expeditiously' those cases not contemplated in the legislation.
