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She was educated at the University of Carabobo, in Carabobo, graduating in law. She then chose to specialize in criminal law and in procedural law and moved to Caracas. She studied criminal law at the Universidad Santa María and procedural law at Andrés Bello Catholic University, both in the capital.
Ortega later became a law professor at the Universidad Santa María and still holds the title. She also served as a legal consultant to the state TV channel, Venezolana de Televisión.
Prosecutor General
In April 2002, Ortega joined the public prosecution service, in the Ministerio Público.[6]
She was Prosecutor General under Nicolás Maduro when arrest warrants and indictments were issued against opposition leader Leopoldo López. After her dismissal as Prosecutor General, Ortega stated that she was pressured to bring about trumped up charges against López.[7]
Ortega denounced the rupture of democracy in Venezuela when the Venezuelan Supreme Court, in a move broadly, both nationally and internationally, considered a power grab, assumed powers constitutionally attributed to the National Assembly.[8] The move was seen[by whom?] as a betrayal by the Maduro government[9][failed verification][clarification needed] and resulted in subsequent accusations by the Maduro government and the Venezuelan Supreme Court.[citation needed][clarification needed]
On 29 June 2017, the Supreme Court barred her from leaving the country and froze her assets, due to alleged "serious misconduct" in office.[10][11][12]
Tarek William Saab, the replacement Prosecutor General appointed by the Constituent Assembly, stated on 16 August 2017 that Ortega and her husband, German Ferrer, operated an extortion group. The Constituent Assembly ordered their arrest the next day and the couple fled to Colombia. Ferrer said the charges were political in nature.[15]
Ortega and Ferrer fled from Venezuela by speedboat to Aruba and then flew into Colombia. Ortega stated that the Maduro government would "deprive me of my life".[16]
In late August 2017, Maduro said he was seeking an international arrest warrant for both Ortega and her husband because they had been involved in serious crimes.[17]