MADURO WARNS OF ‘PUBLIC TRIAL’ QUESTIONS ABOUT GUAIDÓ’S FUTURE

In the short term, analysts say Maduro could use the new assembly — whose members will include his wife and son — to follow through on longstanding threats to jail opposition lawmakers no longer protected by legislative immunity.

In recent months, the socialist leader has floated the idea of holding a “public trial” to try Guaidó for alleged but unspecified acts of corruption.

“My hand will not shake to act steadfastly in accordance to the law and justice,” Maduro said in a state television broadcast.

Maduro has long threatened to arrest Guaidó, who has defied bans prohibiting him from leaving the country and encouraged the military to revolt. But with his powerful international backing, the government has refrained from arresting him.

“The regime knows that it is not yet in its best interest to jail Guaidó,” said Geoff Ramsey, Venezuela director for the Washington Office on Latin America think tank. “But we will see more actions of intimidation and more general repression, specifically against National Assembly deputies that decide to continue in the country.”

However, Guaidó’s recognition by the U.S. and other nations as Venezuela’s “interim president” has rested on his position as president of the National Assembly.

Claiming that Maduro’s 2018 re-election was illegitimate, he swore himself into office before tens of thousands filling the streets of Caracas nearly two years ago. For months, he inspired droves of Venezuelans to protest against Maduro, who has steadily imposed an autocratic rule marked by corruption and economic calamity.

Even before the pandemic, Venezuela was experiencing an economic downturn worse than the U.S. Great Depression. The U.S. is offering a $15 million reward for Maduro’s arrest and has indicted him on charges of narcoterrorism.

While he remains deeply unpopular, Guaidó has been unable to convince the military to turn against Maduro or pressure the regime into holding a new presidential election.

Analysts believe that nations like the U.S. that have recognized Guaidó will continue to support him after Tuesday - but with decidedly less fervor.

“They will continue adopting a rhetoric posture in support of Guaidó’s political figure, but the constitutionality of his position, as interim president, now is not all that clear,” Ramsey said, adding that opposition parties seem to be at their weakest point in two years and that Maduro appears to have consolidated his power despite international pressure.