Venezuela doubles down on intention to arrest opposition leader who claims he defeated Maduro

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s government Sunday doubled down on its intention to arrest the opposition leader who claims he defeated President Nicolás Maduro in last year’s election in the form of a threat from the ruling party-controlled congress.

Without mentioning Edmundo González’s name, National Assembly leader Jorge Rodriguez said the unicameral body would order the immediate arrest of the retired diplomat should he step on Venezuelan soil. The threat follows the government’s recent announcement of a $100,000 reward for information on González’s whereabouts and comes less than a week before Venezuela’s next presidential term is set to begin.

González left Venezuela for exile in Spain in September after a judge issued a warrant for his arrest in connection with an election-related investigation. In recent weeks, he has vowed to travel to Venezuela to be sworn in for the presidential term which, by law, must begin Jan. 10, but he has not explained how he plans to return or wrest power from Maduro, whose party controls all institutions and the military.

“That unworthy being … has been saying that he is going to return to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela,” Rodriguez said shortly after he was re-elected as the National Assembly’s president. “Each and every deputy who defends peace will request, if he touches a bit of land of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, his immediate arrest.”

González began a tour of the Americas with stops in Argentina and Uruguay on Saturday, when he told reporters he would travel to the United States next and hoped to speak with President Joe Biden. He said he also planned to visit Panama and the Dominican Republic.

Meanwhile, Maduro already received an invitation from the National Assembly to be sworn in for a third term Friday, more than five months after the country’s National Electoral Council, stacked with ruling-party loyalists, declared him winner of the July 28 election.

Unlike previous presidential elections, electoral authorities did not provide detailed vote counts. Yet, the opposition collected tally sheets from more than 80% of the nation’s electronic voting machines, posted them online and said they showed González had won the election with twice as many votes as Maduro.

Global condemnation over the lack of transparency prompted Maduro to ask Venezuela’s high court, also controlled by ruling-party supporters, to audit the results. The court subsequently reaffirmed his victory.

The U.S. and most European governments have rejected the election’s official results and consider González the legitimate winner.

Rodriguez on Sunday told National Assembly members that their potential request to have González arrested would be based on a recently approved measure that allows for the prosecution of anyone who expresses support for economic sanctions like those imposed by the United States against Venezuela.