Maduro’s loyalists strip Guaido of immunity

Nicolas Maduro loyalists have stripped Venezuela’s Juan Guaido of immunity, paving the way for the opposition leader’s prosecution and potential arrest for supposedly violating the constitution when he declared himself interim president.

But whether the government of Mr Maduro will take action against the 35-year-old following the Constituent Assembly’s decision remains unclear.

Mr Guaido has embarked on an international campaign to topple the president’s socialist administration amid deepening social unrest in the country plagued by nearly a month of power outages.

He declared himself Venezuela’s interim president in January, and vowed to overthrow Mr Maduro.

A defiant Mr Guaido spoke publicly moments after the vote, saying he was undeterred while knowing he runs the risk of being “kidnapped” by the Maduro government.

“We are aware of that,” Mr Guaido said.

“But we will not change our path.”