Venezuela prosecutor moves on popular opposition leader Guaido

CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuela’s chief prosecutor asks the country’s top court to ban opposition leader Juan Guaido from leaving the country, launching a criminal probe into his anti-government activities while international pressure builds against President Nicolas Maduro.

Attorney General Tarek William Saab makes his request to the government-stacked Supreme Court, and also asks it to block Guaido’s financial accounts.

Saab doesn’t specify what crimes Guaido is being investigated for, but says the probe is tied to unrest sparked by his decision to declare himself interim president last week in a direct challenge to Maduro’s authority.

While rights monitors say hundreds of demonstrators have been arrested in recent days, Guaido has so far avoided arrest, while making occasional and brief public appearances. US National Security Adviser John Bolton has warned that any harm to Guaido or the National Assembly he presides over would be considered a “grave assault” and be met with a “significant response,” without specifying.

Opening a case against Guaido comes as international pressure mounts against Maduro’s government from the United States, which earlier in the day handed control over Venezuela’s US bank accounts to Guaido. Russia announced it expects Venezuela to have problems paying its debts.

Guaido has been recognized as the nation’s rightful leader by two dozen nations, including the United States, Israel, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Argentina, Peru, Ecuador and Paraguay, that contend the re-election of socialist President Nicolas Maduro was a sham, in part because his strongest opponents were barred from running.

— AP