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Venezuelan prosecutors to charge opposition leader Juan Guaido with ‘high treason’
- Guaido is the National Assembly speaker and is recognised as interim president by more than 50 countries
- He is being investigated for allegedly negotiating to renounce the country’s historical claim to a disputed border area controlled by Guyana
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Prosecutors in Venezuela have threatened to charge opposition leader Juan Guaido with “high treason” for planning to renounce the country’s claim to a disputed border area controlled by Guyana.
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Guaido, the National Assembly speaker who is recognised as interim president by more than 50 countries, is being investigated for negotiating to renounce “the historical claim our country has on the territory of Esequibo,” Attorney General Tarek William Saab told reporters on Friday.
State prosecutors successfully petitioned the country’s all-powerful Constituent Assembly to lift Guaido’s parliamentary immunity in April. He already faces several other charges, including one of “usurping the functions of the president”.
Guaido has remained free, however, and continues to rally support against President Nicolas Maduro.
Guaido’s main international sponsor, the United States, has warned Venezuelan authorities against any attempt to arrest him.
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