Venezuela's ANC strips Juan Guaido of parliamentary immunity

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01:15

Venezuela's National Constituent Assembly (ANC) on Tuesday approved the revocation of parliamentary immunity for Juan Guaido, the National Assembly deputy and head of the opposition.

It also authorized the high court to criminally prosecute him for proclaiming himself the country's top leader.

On Monday, Venezuela's Supreme Court requested the Constituent Assembly to lift his parliamentary immunity.

The Constituent Assembly's president, Diosdado Cabello, announced on Tuesday lawmakers had unanimously authorized the Supreme Court to prosecute Guaido, also leaving him liable to be charged for breaching a January 29 government ban on leaving the country.

The president of the Venezuelan National Constituent Assembly Diosdado Cabello (C), assembly member Gladys Requena (R) and assembly first vice-president Tania Diaz (L) raise their hands during a session in Caracas, Venezuela, April 2, 2019. /VCG Photo

The court had been investigating Guaido for usurping Maduro's powers by declaring himself interim president on January 23.

The Monday court ruling cited Guaido's violation of a ban on his travel outside Venezuela when he visited Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Paraguay from late February to early March.

The move came after Venezuela's auditor general's office announced Thursday that it had stripped Guaido of the right to hold public office for 15 years.

In response to the ANC decision, Guaido insisted on Tuesday that nothing would stop his bid to remove his rival, President Nicolas Maduro.

"The people are determined and nothing is going to stop us," he said.

Parallel to the political battle, the country has been hit by a series of devastating blackouts that have also left millions without water, prompting the government to replace the country's energy minister and institute power rationing in a bid to address the outages.

(With input from Xinhua, Reuters)