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. Prosecutors were appointed “to issue an arrest warrant for him and a request for a red notice from Interpol so that he pays for his crimes,” prosecutor Tarek William Saab said 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 the resources of PDVSA [the state-owned oil giant Petroleos de Venezuela] to cause losses close to or exceeding $19 billion [€18 billion],” the Venezuelan prosecutor said, adding: rely 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 proclaimed himself “interim president” of Venezuela in January 2019 after the re-election of President Nicolas Maduro in 2018. Mr. Guaido was notably able to count on the support of Washington, which 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 at the national level, who considered that his “interim government” had not achieved its objective.
