Venezuelan AG Luisa Ortega Breaks with President Maduro

Government’s top legal official declares Supreme Court’s action against congress unconstitutional; Maduro calls meeting to ‘resolve the impasse’.

Attorney General Luisa Ortega said the dissolution of the congress by the Supreme Court is against the law, setting up a confrontation at the top of the regime that President Nicolás Maduro sought to quell late on Friday.

Ms. Ortega, speaking to reporters at a scheduled event, said Wednesday’s ruling against the congress “violates the constitutional order.”

State television immediately cut off transmission of her talk but other private media outlets continued to carry her remarks, which were quickly picked up by social media.

Mr. Maduro, in a televised address, said he called a meeting of top officials Friday night to “resolve the impasse” between Ms. Ortega and the Supreme Court, saying their different views show the vitality of Venezuela’s democracy.

In her remarks earlier in the day, Ms. Ortega said she was speaking on behalf of her office’s 10,000 workers and 3,000 prosecutors. “We call for reflection, so that you take democratic paths that respect the constitution” and “guarantee peace,” she said, receiving a standing ovation.

Ms. Ortega was appointed by the late Hugo Chávez, Mr. Maduro’s mentor and predecessor. Her speech could trigger more defections within Venezuela’s sprawling bureaucracy and armed forces, said retired Maj. Gen. Cliver Alcalá, a top confidant of Mr. Chávez who broke ranks with Mr. Maduro last year over what he said were the president’s antidemocratic policies.

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