Venezuela: Supreme Court Suspends Opposition Guaido Party Leadership

The Venezuelan Supreme Court (TSJ), considered to have won over President Nicolas Maduro, on Tuesday suspended all party leadership from opposition leader Juan Guaido and handed over control to one of his rivals. The TSJ "decrees a measure of constitutional supervision consisting in suspending the current direction (...) of Voluntad Popular (Popular will)" , indicated a press release of the court, which also appointed a "direction ad hoc" directed by the deputy José Gregorio Noriega, an opponent of Juan Guaido.

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On June 15 and 16, the TSJ had already taken similar measures against two other major opposition parties, Accion Democratica (Democratic Action, Social Democrat) and Primero Justicia (Justice First, Center). These decisions come a few months before the legislative elections of December 6 which aim to renew the Parliament, the only power controlled by the opposition, and which the major anti-Maduro parties have decided to boycott, denouncing an electoral "farce" . Calling the TSJ "the judicial arm of the Maduro dictatorship" , the services of Juan Guaido rejected on Twitter "a null and void decision" and accused the presidential camp of wanting to "appropriate the logos and symbols of Voluntad Popular "to "simulate false opposition for his next electoral trap".

According to the court ruling, the new leadership of the Guaido party may "use the logo, symbols, colors and any other sign belonging to Voluntad Popular". José Gregorio Noriega, placed at the head of the party, is an ally of Luis Parra, a deputy who tried to replace Juan Guaido at the beginning of 2020 as President of the Parliament. Luis Parra is one of eleven Venezuelan officials sanctioned at the end of June by the European Union. Washington, for its part, also issued sanctions against Luis Parra and several deputies who support him, including José Gregorio Noriega.

The fate of "Voluntad Popular is not determined by traitors" , reacted on Twitter Leopoldo Lopez, another figure of the opposition, mentor of Juan Guaido and founder of this party. He is now a refugee at the Spanish Embassy in Caracas. "Today, we say it officially: Voluntad Popular WILL NOT VALIDATE this electoral masquerade," added Leopoldo Lopez, who appeared in April 2019 alongside insurgent soldiers and Juan Guaido, who announced a military uprising against Nicolas Maduro. That same evening, he had taken refuge in the diplomatic residence when the uprising had ended. The National Assembly is currently chaired by Juan Guaido, who considers the presence in power of Nicolas Maduro to be illegitimate and in January 2019 declared himself interim president of Venezuela. He is recognized as such by more than fifty countries, including the United States, who openly call for the overthrow of Nicolas Maduro and apply various economic sanctions against Caracas. Nicolas Maduro is supported by Russia, China, Iran and Cuba.