Venezuelan Government Seeks Arrest of Opposition Leader; Juan Guaido: This is Harassment

The prosecutor's office of Nicolas Maduro's government has issued an arrest warrant for Juan Guaido, the opposition leader of the country. According to AFP, the Attorney General of Venezuela has requested Interpol's assistance in detaining him, although Interpol typically does not respond to political complaints. The Maduro government has accused Guaido of 'misusing' resources from an oil company, causing a loss of $19 billion to the country. Guaido, who has been in the United States for some time, reacted to these allegations and denied them. He accused the Maduro government of physical and psychological harassment of the country's opposition. Following the controversial 2018 elections in Venezuela, which saw Nicolas Maduro re-elected as president, the United States and the European Union recognized Guaido, the president of the Venezuelan parliament, as the interim president of the country and called for the resignation of Maduro's administration. The United States considers Maduro's government illegitimate and has imposed multiple sanctions against its officials. In February 2021, the European Union announced that it no longer recognizes Guaido as the interim president of Venezuela because he was not elected in the recent Venezuelan elections, which the EU also did not recognize. However, the EU stated that Guaido remains a 'special negotiator' for them. The UK Supreme Court ruled against the wishes of the Venezuelan president, and Venezuela released two Americans 'as a gesture of goodwill'; Joe Biden welcomed this. Antony Blinken's reaction to the Venezuelan elections: Maduro's government once again deprived the people of participating in a free election. The Iranian Foreign Minister stated that a 20-year cooperation document between Iran and Venezuela will be signed. Reuters, citing informed sources, reported that political negotiations in Venezuela are likely to begin next week in Mexico. The US Secretary of State spoke with Juan Guaido, the interim president of Venezuela. The European Union no longer recognizes Juan Guaido as the interim president of Venezuela. Mike Pompeo stated that the US considers Juan Guaido the legitimate and lawful president of Venezuela.