Venezuela’s congress opens political trial against Maduro
CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuela’s opposition-controlled congress has opened a political trial against President Nicolas Maduro for breaking the constitutional order, deepening a standoff triggered by authorities’ suspension of a recall referendum against the widely unpopular socialist leader.
The move, in a special legislative session Tuesday, had been expected ever since opposition leaders declared themselves in open rebellion and called for street demonstrations to force Maduro from office. But it’s unlikely to have any legal effect as Maduro still controls other branches of government, including the military and Supreme Court, which has already declared the National Assembly illegitimate.
In Tuesday’s vote, in which the opposition argued Maduro had effectively abandoned the presidency by neglecting his job, several lawmakers also questioned whether he was a dual Colombian national and therefore ineligible to hold Venezuela’s highest office. It’s an old, unproven claim widely seen as a stretch but one that analysts say is a reaction to the government’s own trampling of the constitution in scrapping the recall that offered the best hope of peacefully resolving Venezuela’s political and economic crisis.
“If Maduro has dual nationality, he has no constitutional right to govern Venezuela,” said Juan Miguel Matheus, an opposition lawmaker. “He’ll go down as one of the biggest liars in history and the constitutional mechanisms to remove him from power and call new elections should be activated.”