Venezuela’s Attorney General Tarek William Saab and Public Defender Alfredo Ruiz both submitted letters of resignation to the National Assembly on Wednesday, February 25, 2026. The move comes as a political shift unfolds in the South American nation, following recent developments regarding the political future of Nicolás Maduro.
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National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez confirmed receipt of the resignations, stating that both officials expressed their decision to step down from their respective positions. Ruiz cited personal, family, and health reasons for his departure.
According to Rodríguez, a selection committee will be formed to choose their replacements. In the interim, the Parliament has begun the process of selecting an interim Attorney General. “The traditional procedure is for the Vice Attorney General to assume the position temporarily until the established procedure is completed,” Rodríguez explained. “However, there is no Vice Attorney General, so we will proceed to choose an interim official for both positions although the nomination committee is activated.”
Minutes after the announcements, the National Assembly appointed Larry Daniel Devoe as interim Attorney General. Devoe, according to Rodríguez, is a graduate of the Catholic University Andrés Bello with a master’s degree in constitutional law, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.
He also specializes in criminal sciences and criminology and holds two diplomas in human rights.
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The Parliament also chose Tarek William Saab as interim Public Defender. “For the position of interim Public Defender, we seek to designate a man who has dedicated his life to being an expert in human rights,” the President of the Assembly stated.
Tarek William Saab, Fiscal General de Venezuela Photo:AFP
Who is Tarek William Saab?
Saab was appointed to the Attorney General’s office in 2017 by the National Constituent Assembly and has been sanctioned by the United States since that same year amid accusations of human rights violations in the Caribbean nation.
The now-former Attorney General is considered a close collaborator of the so-called “Bolivarian Revolution,” and his detractors accuse him of serving the interests of the ruling party.
Tarek William Saab, fiscal general de Venezuela. Photo:Suministrada
During his tenure as Attorney General, he was accused of launching investigations against hundreds of opposition members, journalists, and activists, including prominent opposition leaders María Corina Machado and Edmundo González.
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international organizations, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have documented arbitrary detentions, torture, and the use of the criminal justice system as a tool of repression, with at least 18 deaths in custody recorded during his administration.
Following the recent political developments in Venezuela, Saab advocated for the return of President Nicolás Maduro and condemned Washington’s actions as illegal and a violation of international law.
Larry Daniel Devoe, nuevo como fiscal general encargado de Venezuela Photo:@LarryDevoe/X
In the transition process initiated in Venezuela, the control of Tarek William Saab in the Attorney General’s Office was seen by several human rights defenders and opposition leaders as a continuation of the structure of repression and persecution of the Venezuelan regime.
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However, on Friday, Saab stated that the Amnesty Law approved by the Parliament closed “an important historical cycle” in Venezuela. “I would say that the approval of the Amnesty Law closes an important historical cycle that is to heal wounds, obviously as a result of the dispute and conflicts, beyond what the Law itself narrates,” the official said, according to a press release issued by the Attorney General’s Office.
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*With Efe and El Nacional (GDA)
