Nicolas Maduro’s government has been criticized for preventing potential challengers from seeking office.
A Venezuelan court has issued arrest warrants for three opposition leaders who have publicly denounced President Nicolas Maduro’s socialist government, accusing them of treason, money laundering and impersonation of public officials.
The subpoenas come after three lawmakers were named last week for the head of Venezuela’s opposition government, which refused to recognize President Maduro’s authority. Dinorah Figuera was appointed president of Venezuela’s opposition legislature along with two vice presidents, Auristela Vasquez and Marianela Fernandez.
All three live abroad to avoid what they describe as trouble from Maduro and his supporters.
Speaking on television on Monday, Venezuela’s Attorney General Tarek Saab said Mr. Maduro’s government had asked the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) to assist in the arrest of the three lawmakers.
“These three citizens live abroad — two in Spain and one in the United States. We will see what the governments of those countries do with our request,” Saab said.
The split in the Venezuelan government began in 2019, after Mr. Maduro took office for a second term. The election 2018 used to fierce dispute after several opponents were barred from challenging Maduro at the ballot box.
With Maduro set to begin another six-year term, the opposition-controlled National Assembly announced that it would no longer recognize him as president. Instead, it appointed Juan Guaido, a little-known politician, as the “interim president” of Venezuela.
This move caused an international crisis, as countries like America and the UK has chosen to recognize Guaido’s government instead of Maduro’s. But Maduro immediately denounced Guaido’s leadership as illegitimate.
In the years since 2019, the opposition has continued to operate a legislature that acts as a shadow of the country’s current National Assembly, backed by Maduro.
However, efforts to remove Maduro appear to have failed. Recently, governments such as Spain, Colombia and Brazil has moved to re-establish relations with his government.
The Opposition and the Government of Maduro resumption of negotiations in November, hoping to find a solution to the political crisis that has plagued the country for years.
Guaidó is removed from his position as leader of the opposition in a vote at the end of December, as legislators prepare for Venezuela’s 2024 presidential election. Figuera was chosen as his replacement, with Fernandez and Vasquez joining her to form a trio.
But the appointment of an all-female leadership team has drawn criticism from Maduro and his allies. Socialist leader Diosdado Cabello criticized the opposition government as fictitious, saying: “They like to live in fantasy. They like to live the dream.”
On Monday, Saab, the attorney general in Maduro’s government, accused opposition leaders of violating Venezuela’s constitution and illegally seizing state assets with the support of Maduro. foreign government.
In a Zoom forum, Figuera said that “threat will not make us give up”.
“While they continue to pursue and criminalize,” she said, “we will continue with our agenda.”
