Relatives of a former Venezuelan official who died while being investigated for corruption ask for protection and explanations

( Spanish) — The relatives of Leoner Azuaje Urrea, who died in prison after being charged in an alleged corruption plot in the state-owned Cartones de Venezuela, asked the government of President Nicolás Maduro for protection this Friday and said they felt fear in two videos posted on Twitter.

In one of the audiovisuals, published on the account @justiciaLeoner2created in April 2023, two women, Rosalía Urrea and Mónica Azuaje Urrea, who identify themselves as Azuaje’s mother and sister, assured that he was “an irreproachable man”, that “he was not corrupt” and that everything occurred “was the product of a mistake”

According to the version of his relatives, Azuaje, who presided over Cartones de Venezuela, was “taken from his home on April 14 and left in custody.” “I spent six days without hearing from my son,” said Rosalía Urrea.

In another account on the same social network, @justiciaparaLeoner, Claudia Pimentel, a woman who introduces herself as Azuaje’s partner, also requested protection for herself and her daughters. “I couldn’t see my husband after he was arrested. They told us that my husband committed suicide, but on social networks everyone does not believe it. I do not know what’s going on”.

was able to verify that both accounts belong to Azuaje’s relatives through a source related to them.

Attorney General Tarek William Saab reported on Friday that the results of the autopsy carried out on Azuaje reveal that he died as a result of “mechanical asphyxia or neck constriction by hanging.”

Saab added that several letters addressed to his family were located in which he acknowledges “the mistake made.” The prosecutor did not provide further details.

But a person close to the Azuaje family assured that they are not aware of said letter.

has not been able to independently verify the circumstances of the death of the president of Cartones de Venezuela.

At the beginning of the week, Azuaje had been presented in court as a defendant in a corruption scheme at the state-owned Cartones de Venezuela. His arrest is the most recent episode of an ongoing investigation related to alleged acts of corruption.