Venezuela issues arrest warrant for opposition leader Juan Guaido

The Venezuelan prosecutor’s office announced on Thursday October 5 that it had issued an arrest warrant against the leader of the opposition, Juan Guaido. The prosecutors were appointed “to issue an arrest warrant against him and a request for a red notice from Interpol so that he pays for his crimes”said prosecutor Tarek William Saab in a televised address.

Now exiled in the United States, Juan Guaido is notably accused of treason, usurpation of functions, money laundering and association with a view to committing a crime. “Mr. Guaido used PDVSA resources [le géant public pétrolier Petroleos de Venezuela] to cause losses close to or greater than $19 billion [18 milliards d’euros] »declared the Venezuelan prosecutor, who said he relied on “revelations” provided to the press “by a federal court in the United States”.

Guaido was dropped by some of his allies at the end of 2022

Former president of the National Assembly, Juan Guaido was proclaimed in January 2019 “interim president” of Venezuela after the re-election of President Nicolas Maduro in 2018. Mr. Guaido was notably able to count on the support of Washington, which had adopted a battery of sanctions against Caracas, including an embargo on Venezuelan oil.

But, in December 2022, Juan Guaido was finally abandoned by some of his allies on the national level, who considered that his “interim government” had not achieved its objective.