Venezuelan court issues arrest warrant against newly-appointed Figuera
A court announced that the newly-appointed "president" of Venezuela's opposition parallel national assembly is connected to charges including the usurpation of functions, treason, association with crime, and money laundering.
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Dinorah Figuera
The 49th Control Court of the Criminal Judicial Circuit of the Caracas Metropolitan Area agreed on Saturday to issue an arrest warrant against the newly-appointed "president" of Venezuela's opposition parallel national assembly, Dinorah Figuera, for committing crimes against the homeland.
The decision was communicated through a thread of messages published on the court's Twitter account.
According to the communications, the arrest of citizens Auristela Vasquez Castillo and Marianela Fernandez, who have been appointed as "vice presidents" for the 2023-2024 legislative period, was also ordered.
The arrest warrant was issued after evaluating Figuera and the two other citizens' connection to various crimes, including the usurpation of functions, treason, association with crime, and money laundering.
According to the text, their "participation in irregular acts related to the fictitious appointment of a Board of Directors of an alleged Illegitimate National Assembly, for the theft of Venezuelan assets abroad" was also in question.
Tribunal 49 de Control del Circuito Judicial Penal del Área Metropolitana de Caracas acuerda Orden de Aprehensión en contra de las ciudadanas AURISTELA DEL VALLE VASQUEZ DE CASTILLO, C.I: V-5.220.434, MARIANELA FERNANDEZ ALVARADO, C.I: V-5.169.738 y (sigue)
— Circuito Judicial Penal AMC (@CJPenalAMC) January 8, 2023
This comes shortly after various opposition parties withdrew their support for Juan Guaido.
The Venezuelan opposition's congress replaced its head Juan Guaido on Thursday, a week after ousting the country's US-sponsored self-proclaimed "interim president" and dissolving his government.
The opposition assembly, which is different from the Venezuelan National Assembly, was formed in 2015 and announced the appointment of Dinorah Figuera as "president" and Marianela Fernandez and Auristela Vasquez as "vice presidents" for the 2023-2024 legislative period.
Venezuela was thrown into a political crisis in January 2019 when Juan Guaido, the former head of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, backed by the US, declared himself "interim president" in an attempt to depose re-elected President Nicolas Maduro.
Maduro has recently confirmed that his government is ready to develop the process of normalizing political and diplomatic relations with the US.
On December 30, 2022, the Venezuelan opposition backed in a second hearing the removal of Juan Guaido's self-proclaimed "interim government", which he has led since 2019, AFP reported.
"Total votes: 72 votes in favor, 29 votes against, eight abstained," Jose Antonio Figueredo, the secretary of Venezuela’s National Assembly, had stated.
On December 22, the Venezuelan opposition voted in favor of dismantling the self-proclaimed "interim government" led by Guaido.
In October, the Venezuelan opposition's political parties were discussing plans to oust the incumbent opposition leader Juan Guaido, according to The Financial Times.
The parties which backed the decision are Primero Justicia, Accion Democratica, and Un Nuevo Tiempo.
Relations were severed consequently, which led the US to impose crippling sanctions on Venezuela's oil and financial industries, while Iran, Russia, China, Turkey, and several other nations have been supporting Maduro.
