Venezuela calls for arrest of Juan Guaidó, former opposition leader

The attorney general accused Mr. Guaidó, who now lives in the United States, of misusing public funds for his own benefit, which he he denied.

Venezuelan authorities said Thursday they were seeking the arrest of Juan Guaidó, the former opposition leader in exile in the United States -United.

Attorney General Tarek William Saab said Venezuela's public prosecutor had requested an arrest warrant for Mr. Guaidó. He said Guaidó had used the resources of state oil company Petróleos de Venezuela for his own benefit, saying his actions had cost the Venezuelan government $19 billion.

Mr. Guaidó denied these accusations on social networks, saying that “this is how the dictatorship machine works to promote lies.”

Mr. Guaidó became the face of resistance to Venezuela's authoritarian government during large-scale protests in 2019, when he took over the legislature, declared President Nicolas Maduro an illegitimate leader, and named himself leader interim leader of the country, a bold move supported by the United States. states and dozens of other nations.

But as he has failed to make progress toward dislodging Mr. Maduro, his support has waned in his country and abroad. Last year, his opposition colleagues dissolved his caretaker government.

The public prosecutor's office said in a statement on Thursday that prosecutors had been appointed to issue the arrest warrant against Mr. Guaidó. and that the government would ask Interpol to issue a "red notice" to governments around the world demanding that he be arrested.