Venezuela Blocks Guaidó From Office as the Opposition Scoffs

Venezuela's National Assembly head Juan Guaidó speaks to the crowd during a mass opposition rally against leader Nicolás Maduro in which he declared himself the country's 'acting president', on the anniversary of a 1958 uprising that overthrew a military dictatorship, in Caracas on January 23, 2019. Federico Parra/AFP

CARACAS—Venezuela’s opposition leader Juan Guaidó will be barred from public office for 15 years, the government comptroller said on March 28, as it seeks to crack down on the United States-backed rival to President Nicolás Maduro.

Guaidó has been recognized as head of state by most Western countries after invoking the constitution to assume the interim presidency, arguing Maduro’s 2018 re-election was illegitimate and that he became a usurper when his second term began in January.