Venezuela's Supreme Court seeks to strip Guaido of parliamentary immunity

Venezuela's Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) President Maikel Moreno on Monday reconfirmed the order to prohibit opposition leader Juan Guaido from leaving the country and asked the National Constituent Assembly (ANC) to strip him of his parliamentary immunity.

File photo of Juan Guaido, Venezuelan opposition leader. [Photo: AP/Natacha Pisarenko]

Moreno said a "certified copy of the decision will be sent to the ANC for the purpose of stripping Juan Guaido's parliamentary immunity."

The decision was made as the opposition leader, who self-proclaimed himself "interim president" on Jan. 23, violated the measure imposed by the TSJ a few months ago.

The ruling by the Supreme Court declared Guaido's "contempt" for failing to comply with the order prohibiting him from leaving the country which was imposed in January. Guaido has made several foreign trips to countries in the region.

"It is public ... that the Supreme Court agreed on measures against citizen Juan Guaido, such as the prohibition from leaving the country without the authorization from this high court, and it is public that Juan Guaido violated this order," Moreno said.

In light of this, the full chamber of the TSJ, chaired by Juan Jose Mendoza, ratified "the prohibition of leaving the country, without authorization, until the investigation is completed."

Other measures against Guaido also included "prohibition of selling his property, blocking and freezing of bank accounts or any other financial means in Venezuelan territory," the TSJ leader said.

The court also ordered the decision be sent to the plenary chamber of the Republic's General Prosecutor to continue the investigative proceedings.

Venezuela's TSJ barred Guaido from leaving the country and froze his financial assets in January.