Maduro loyalists strip Venezuela’s Juan Guaido of immunity

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Maduro loyalists stripped Venezuela’s Juan Guaidó of immunity Tuesday, paving the way for the opposition leader’s prosecution and potential arrest for supposedly violating the constitution when he declared himself interim president.

But whether the government of President Nicolas Maduro will take action against the 35-year-old lawmaker following the Constituent Assembly’s decision remains unclear.

Guaidó has embarked on an international campaign to topple the president’s socialist administration amid deepening social unrest in the country plagued by nearly a month of power outages.

He declared himself Venezuela’s interim president in January and vowed to overthrow Maduro.

So far, however, Maduro has avoided jailing the man that the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump and roughly 50 other nations recognise as Venezuela’s legitimate leader.

A defiant Guaidó spoke publicly moments after the vote, saying he’s undeterred, while knowing he runs the risk of being “kidnapped” by the Maduro government.

The Trump administration has threatened the Maduro government with a strong response if Guaido is harmed.

The vote against Guaidó was unanimous, and Constituent Assembly president and socialist party boss Diosdado Cabello accused the opposition of naively inviting a foreign invasion and of inciting a civil war. 

The Constituent Assembly, which is made up entirely of Maduro loyalists, met a day after Maduro ally and Venezuela Supreme Court of Justice Maikel Moreno ordered it to strip Guaidó’s immunity for violating an order banning him leaving the country while under investigation by the attorney general.

The opposition leader is also accused of inciting violence through street protests, and of receiving illicit funds from abroad.

The Constitution guarantees immunity for elected officials and says that in order to withdraw immunity the accused lawmaker must be given a preliminary hearing before the Supreme Court.

The action must be approved by the National Assembly — steps that weren’t taken in Guaidó’s case.

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