Venezuela’s top judge seeks to lift Guaido's immunity

By Lokman Ilhan

CARACAS (AA) – Venezuela’s chief justice asked the country’s National Assembly on Tuesday to strip opposition leader Juan Guaido of his parliamentary immunity.

Maikel Moreno, president of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ), made the request, saying the judicial process regarding Guaido is obvious and the court had imposed a fine on him.

Guaido, the leader of Venezuela’s opposition National Assembly, who declared himself acting president on Jan. 23, has been charged with violating a travel ban imposed on him by visiting Colombia in February.

The Venezuelan government announced last Thursday that it was barring Guaido from holding public office for 15 years.

He was accused of having inconsistencies in his personal financial disclosures and a spending record higher than his income, according to a statement by state comptroller Elvis Amoroso.

Amoroso said all lawmakers were obliged to disclose their financial status and spending in line with Venezuelan laws.

Since 2015, Guaido had made 91 international trips without authorization from the National Assembly for which he spent 300 million bolivars ($30 million) and did not record where the money came from, Amoroso added.

- Maduro supporters to take to the streets

Supporters of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro will take to the streets on April 6.

Diosdado Cabello, deputy chief of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), announced at a press conference in Caracas that they will gather then for a “day of anti-imperialism rally”.

Guaido previously called on his supporters to take to the streets the same day for what he called ‘Operation Freedom’.

Venezuela has been rocked by protests since Jan. 10, when Maduro was sworn in for a second term following a vote boycotted by the opposition.

Tensions flared when Guaido declared himself acting president -- a move supported by the U.S. and many European and Latin American countries.

Turkey, Russia, China, Iran, Bolivia and Mexico have thrown their weight behind Maduro.