Venezuela opposition figure Maria Machado probed over murder plot

Ms Machado, a former congresswoman, led a major street protest against President Maduro's government in January. She dismissed the accusations as a charade designed to silence her. The alleged plot came in a series of emails which Ms Machado says are fake. Ms Machado said the charges were designed to distract Venezuelans from a growing economic crisis. Manipulation->Officials produced the emails in the midst of months of street protests. They said they contained conversations between Maria Machado and US State Department officials discussing a plot to overthrow the Venezuelan government Ms Machado said the messages used her old email accounts and had been manipulated and were fabricated. She said on her social media account that the conspiracy charges were in retribution for demanding a new leadership at the state elections council. Maria Machado had helped lead demonstrations which had initially been started in January in the western state of Tachira by university students. They were protesting against the high rate of crime on campuses and the country's struggling economy. She was expelled from the National Assembly in March after she backed the protests which had spread across the country. More…