Venezuela issues arrest warrant for US-based opposition leader Juan Guaido
Venezuelan authorities on Thursday issued an arrest warrant for opposition leader and former interim president Juan Guaido, who dismissed the move as politically motivated.
During a press conference in the capital Caracas, Attorney General Tarek William Saab alleged that Guaido had used the state-owned oil company PDVSA’s resources to finance himself and pay his legal expenses.
“Juan Guaido used PDVSA resources to finance himself, pay his legal expenses, and forced PDVSA to accept his financing terms. These decisions caused losses to the nation of $19 billion, resulting in the almost definitive loss of Citgo,” Saab said, adding that Venezuela will request a red notice from Interpol.
“For this reason, we have opened a new investigation against former deputy Juan Guaido, and we have requested an arrest warrant against him,” he said.
Guaido served as the interim president of Venezuela’s transitional government from 2019 until late 2022 – when he was ousted from his leadership role after struggling to make significant gains against the authoritarian regime of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
This spring, Guaido traveled to Miami, where he has remained. Speaking to CNN on Friday, he said, “Of course, I want to be back in Venezuela, but at least here I am alive and free, which is not the same for many Venezuelans who are behind bars or have been murdered by the dictatorship.”
The arrest warrant against Guaido will be for the alleged crimes of treason; usurpation of functions; profit or extraction of money, securities and public goods; money laundering; and association.
28 investigations are ongoing in the country against Guaido for a raft of alleged crimes including usurpation of functions, money laundering, terrorism, arms trafficking, and treason.
Saab said “Those who at some point believed in this guy and went out to march; they see that they found it to be a vulgar criminal of the worst caliber, robbing and kidnapping,”.
Guaido’s spokesperson declined to comment on the allegations, but during a live transmission on his Instagram account, Guaido described them as “false” and challenged President Maduro to submit to justice himself.
“This message goes to you, Maduro, tomorrow let’s meet at any prosecutor’s office in the US or, if you prefer, another jurisdiction, The Hague. We can then go directly to the jurisdiction that also points (to) you directly,” Guaido said.
That’s how there use to dho
We are following up
Ok
Thanks