Venezuela's auditor general's office announced Thursday it has stripped opposition leader and speaker of congress Juan Guaido of the right to hold public office for 15 years.
The move, announced by Auditor General Elvis Amoroso on state television, marked another effort by President Nicolas Maduro's regime to politically sideline Guaido, who is recognized by the US and 50 other countries as Venezuela's interim president.
Amoroso said his office decided "to ban this citizen (Juan Guaido) from all elected public office for the maximum duration under the law." Venezuela's single-chamber congress, called the National Assembly, is in opposition hands and stands as the sole institution not under the control of Maduro.
The country's supreme court and a parallel legislature set up by Maduro in 2017 regularly adopt decisions scrapping National Assembly motions against the regime.
The National Assembly, for its part, often ignores or passes laws annulling decisions by what it regards as an "illegitimate" regime, asserting that Guaido is in charge of the country constitutionally.
Although Maduro's government has heeded warnings from the United States to not arrest Guaido or face unspecified repercussions, the opposition leader's chief of staff was taken into custody last week and charged with "terrorism."
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