Worsening the crisis in Venezuela the Nicolas Maduro government barred opposition leader. Venezuelan government has barred opposition leader Juan Guaido from holding public office for 15 years.

Venezuela’s Comptroller General Elvis Amoroso said, the decision was taken following an investigation that shows irregularities in his financial records. He said, the decision will be for the maximum period established in the decree with the scope, courage and strength of the law against corruption.

Guaido, the leader of the US-backed opposition-controlled National Assembly, has challenged Maduro and his socialist party for power. He invoked the country’s constitution to declared himself interim president in January, arguing Maduro’s May 2018 reelection was illegitimate </s> [BBC] Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó will be barred from holding further public office for 15 years, the maximum allowed by law, the state financial controller has announced.

Mr Guaidó, head of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, declared himself interim president in January.

He has the support of more than 50 countries, including the US.

The BBC’s Will Grant in the Venezuelan capital Caracas says the decision to stop Mr Guaidó from holding office would come into force if he decided to put himself up for re-election at the end of his current term in the National Assembly.

Mr Guaidó rejected Mr Amoroso’s announcement, saying that he was “not auditor general”. “The legitimate congress is the only one with power to designate an auditor general,” he said. </s> The Venezuelan government has barred opposition leader Juan Guaido from holding public office for 15 years.

The announcement by the state comptroller on Thursday increases pressure on the leader of the National Assembly, who is staging protests in an attempt to force President Nicolas Maduro from power.

The government cited alleged irregularities in the financial records of Guaido, who has said he expects more efforts by Maduro to derail his U.S.-backed opposition movement. </s> CARACAS, Venezuela — The Venezuelan government has barred opposition leader Juan Guaido from holding public office for 15 years.

The announcement by the state comptroller on Thursday increases pressure on the leader of the National Assembly, who is staging protests in an attempt to force President Nicolas Maduro from power.

The government cited alleged irregularities in the financial records of Guaido, who has said he expects more efforts by Maduro to derail his U.S.-backed opposition movement.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> Caracas, Venezuela — The Venezuelan government on Thursday said it has barred opposition leader Juan Guaidó from holding public office for 15 years, though the National Assembly leader responded soon afterward that he would continue his campaign to oust President Nicolás Maduro.

The announcement by state comptroller Elvis Amoroso, a close ally of Maduro, cited alleged irregularities in the financial records of Guaido and reflected a tightening of government pressure on an opposition movement backed by the United States and dozens of other countries.

"We're going to continue in the streets," Guaidó said soon after Amoroso's statements on state television.

The power struggle between Maduro and Guaidó has intensified the sense of crisis in Venezuela, which suffered its worst blackouts earlier this month and then another round of power outages that paralyzed commerce this week.

Juan Guaidó on March 27, 2019, in Caracas, Venezuela. Getty

Both the opposition and the government plan demonstrations on Saturday as they try to project resolve in a debilitating standoff in what was once one of Latin America's wealthiest countries. More than three million Venezuelans have left the country in recent years, escaping dire economic conditions that left many without adequate food or medicine.

Maduro, who is backed by Russia, says he is the target of a U.S.-led coup plot.

Venezuelan authorities this month arrested Guaidó's chief of staff, Roberto Marrero, and accused him of involvement in a "terrorist" scheme to overthrow the government.

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó says chief of staff detained

The United States was the first nation to recognize Guaidó as interim president, asserting that Maduro's re-election last year was illegitimate. It has stepped up sanctions and other diplomatic measures in the hopes of forcing him to give up power. </s> Venezuela's government said Thursday that it has barred opposition leader Juan Guaidó from public office for 15 years as he intensifies his U.S.-backed effort to overthrow President Nicolás Maduro.

The government's move was announced by state comptroller Elvis Amoroso, who cited "inconsistencies in [Guaidó's] personal financial disclosures and a spending record that did not match his level of income," according to Reuters. The 15-year punishment is the maximum permitted by law.

Guaidó was quick to denounce the government's attempt to ban him from office.

"We're going to continue in the streets," Guaidó said on state television after Amoroso's announcement.

As CNBC reported Wednesday, Guaidó is gearing up for "a mass mobilization—called 'Operation Freedom'—in a bid to force Maduro to step down."

Guaidó declared himself interim president of Venezuela in January, and the United States quickly became the first country to recognize him. Major European nations—including France, Germany, and the U.K.—shortly followed the U.S. in recognizing Guaidó.

As Common Dreams reported in January, Vice President Mike Pence called Guaidó the night before the announcement and promised that the Trump administration would back him if he attempted to seize power.

National security adviser John Bolton, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) were also reportedly involved in behind-the-scenes orchestration with Guaidó.

Not surprisingly, Rubio on Thursday used news of Guaidó's ban from public office to charge Maduro with launching a "massive wave of targeted repression." </s> Venezuela's Constituent Assembly voted unanimously to strip self-proclaimed interim president Juan Guaidó of immunity in a move his supporters fear may signal the impending arrest and prosecution of the opposition leader who is challenging the rule of President Nicolás Maduro.

Until now, Maduro has refrained from jailing Guaidó who has the support of the Trump administration and several dozen other countries. The Constituent Assembly is loyal to Maduro.

Guaidó declared himself interim president in January and has led several public mobilizations seeking to convince Venezuelans that he can succeed Maduro and help lead the country out of its political and economic crisis.

The Constituent Assembly's action came after Venezuela Supreme Court Justice Maikel Moreno, a Maduro ally, called for Guaidó's prosecution for violating a government travel ban. In late February, Guaidó slipped out of Venezuela and spent a week trying to rally support for his claim to the presidency from European and South American nations. The opposition leader is also accused of inciting violence and receiving illegal foreign funds.

Last week Venezuelan state comptroller Elvis Amoroso, another Maduro ally, barred Guaidó from holding public office for 15 years.

Before the vote by the Constituent Assembly, Guaidó criticized it and the Maduro-aligned Supreme Court.

"This is not even a persecution," he said as quoted by Reuters. "This is inquisition."

The Maduro government has increased its pressure on the opposition in other ways. Last month government agents detained Guaidó's chief of staff, Roberto Marrero, in an overnight raid of his home — a move Guaidó condemned as a kidnapping.

Guaidó's wife, Fabiana Rosales, was in Florida Tuesday meeting with state leaders and Venezuelan exiles. A news conference with Gov. Ron DeSantis was delayed by concerns over a safety "situation" in Venezuela — reportedly related to Guaidó's safety. </s> CARABALLEDA, Venezuela—The head of Venezuela’s legislature was briefly detained Sunday by the country’s secret police, as international pressure mounts on authoritarian leader Nicolás Maduro.

The detention came days after Juan Guaidó, the 35-year-old lawmaker who chairs Venezuela’s National Assembly, said he was willing to assume the presidency. </s> Juan Guaidó says he knows he runs the risk of being arrested for pushing to oust Nicolas Maduro.

But a defiant Guaidó said Tuesday that he is undeterred. The 35-year-old opposition leader spoke publicly moments after an assembly loyal to Maduro stripped him of his immunity from prosecution.

The move by the National Constituent Assembly paves the way for his prosecution and potential arrest for supposedly violating the constitution when he declared himself interim president.

Guaidó has backing from more than 50 nations, including the United States, which reject Maduro as illegitimately elected.

Maduro blames Washington for trying to install a puppet government to seize Venezuela's vast oil reserves.
Venezuelan state comptroller Elvis Amoroso announces that opposition leader Juan Guaidó is barred from holding public office for 15 years because of irregularities in his financial records. Guaidó, the National Assembly President, says he will continue his campaign to oust President Nicolás Maduro.