Venezuela Court Upholds Ban on Leading Opposition Presidential Candidate Machado

By Vivian Sequera, Mayela Armas, and Deisy Buitrago

CARACAS – Venezuela’s Supreme Justice Tribunal has upheld a ban preventing presidential candidate Maria Corina Machado from holding office, disrupting the opposition’s plans for the upcoming elections scheduled later this year.

The ruling bars Machado, a 56-year-old industrial engineer, from registering to run in the presidential elections set for the latter half of 2024. This decision was announced just hours after three of Machado’s allies were detained on charges of conspiracy, amid intensifying tensions between President Nicolas Maduro’s government and the political opposition.

The United States has tied the continuation of sanctions relief, granted in October based on an electoral agreement, to Maduro’s release of political prisoners and "wrongfully detained" Americans, as well as progress on lifting bans against various opposition politicians.

In December, Venezuela released 24 of its own citizens and 10 Americans, including six categorized as "wrongfully detained," in exchange for the freedom of a Maduro official and the extradition of a businessman wanted by the U.S.

However, the confirmation of Machado’s ban could complicate relations between the two countries. The court stated that it upheld allegations that Machado supported U.S. sanctions, was involved in corruption, and caused financial losses to Venezuela’s foreign assets, which include the U.S.-based oil refiner Citgo and the chemicals company Monomeros, operating in Colombia.

"The regime decided to end the agreement made in Barbados. What it hasn’t ended is our struggle for democracy through free and fair elections," Machado expressed via social media.

Attorney General Tarek Saab earlier accused Guillermo Lopez, Luis Camacaro, and Juan Freites of being part of a group that attempted to rob a military arsenal last year as part of a planned attack on a pro-Maduro state governor.

Machado’s Vente Venezuela party stated on social media that Camacaro and Freites appeared in court in Caracas without private legal representation and were denied any contact with their families, describing it as an "illegal and arbitrary" procedure. The party did not reference Lopez in its statement.

Saab labeled the three individuals as "criminals" during a broadcast on state television.

The U.S. State and Treasury departments have yet to respond to requests for comment.