Venezuela’s opposition leader Juan Guaido stripped of immunity, can face prosecution

Measure allows President Maduro’s chief rival to be prosecuted and potentially removed from office, but it is unclear what effect it will have

A defiant Guaido spoke publicly moments after the vote, saying he’s undeterred

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Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaido. Photo: AFP

Published: 11:44am, 3 Apr 2019Updated: 8:35pm, 3 Apr 2019

Venezuelan lawmakers loyal to President Nicolas Maduro have stripped opposition leader Juan Guaido’s immunity – and authorised a high court to criminally prosecute him for proclaiming himself the crisis-hit country’s ruler.

Guaido – whose claim is recognised by over 50 countries – had earlier expressed fears of being abducted by government agents following a request by the Supreme Court to the Constituent Assembly to lift his parliamentary immunity.

Critics of the controversial two-year-old body say it was created to rubber-stamp Maduro’s decisions and sideline the opposition-controlled National Assembly.

The Constituent Assembly’s president, Diosdado Cabello, announced pro-Maduro lawmakers had unanimously authorised the Supreme Court to prosecute Guaido, leaving him also liable to be charged for breaching a January 29 government ban on leaving the country.

The court had been investigating Guaido for usurping Maduro’s powers by declaring himself interim president on January 23 – a move which rapidly gained international support.

But Russia, China, Turkey and Cuba remain Maduro’s biggest backers.