Venezuela's top court upholds ban on opposition candidate

Venezuela's Supreme Court upheld a ban on Friday that prevents opposition leader Maria Corina Machado from running for president.

The ruling is a blow for the prospect of free elections in the country later this year — a key condition of a normalization deal signed with the US last October.

Machado had already been banned from holding public office for 15 years, and on Friday the court said she would remain disqualified "for being involved... in the corruption plot orchestrated by the usurper Juan Guaido."

Guaido had claimed to be the legitimate interim president of Venezuela in 2019 and was recognized by some foreign governments as such, but he was forced into exile in 2023.

Machado slammed the ruling on Friday.

"Maduro and his criminal system chose the worst path for them: fraudulent elections. That's not going to happen. Let no one doubt it, this is to the end," she said on social media.

US threatens sanctions

The US State Department reacted to the news by saying it would review its sanctions policy towards the South American nation.

"The United States is currently reviewing our Venezuela sanctions policy, based on this development and the recent political targeting of democratic opposition candidates and civil society," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.

Miller said the court ruling was a "deeply concerning decision" that ran contrary to the prior commitments made by the Venezuelan government.

Last year, the US had eased economically debilitating oil sanctions on the crude-exporting country after President Nicolas Maduro's government signed a deal with the opposition committing to hold a free and fair presidential elections in 2024.

Who is Maria Corina Machado?

Machado, a former lawmaker and industrial engineer,  who handily won the opposition's primary election with more than 90% of the vote.

Because the primary was organised independently of Venezuela's electoral authorities, she had been able to run despite the 15-year ban on holding office.

Machado insisted throughout the campaign that authorities had had not officially notified her of the ban.

Following this, she took her case to the Supreme Tribunal of Justice in December to argue that the ban was null and void, and sought an injunction to protect her political rights.

Friday's decision also confirmed the disqualification of two-time presidential candidate Henrique Capriles, who was seen as a possible stand-in for the opposition.

zc/kb (AP, AFP, Reuters)