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Venezuela\u2019s highest court ruled on Friday that a top opposition leader cannot run for president, dealing a crippling blow to prospects for credible elections that the government had agreed to hold this year in exchange for the lifting of crippling U.S. economic sanctions.<\/p>\n
The court\u2019s decision bars the opposition figure, Mar\u00eda Corina Machado, from taking part in an election for 15 years, upholding the Venezuelan government\u2019s decision to exclude Ms. Machado over what it claimed were financial irregularities that occurred when she was a national legislator.<\/p>\n
The move comes after Ms. Machado overwhelmingly won an opposition primary election for president that was held in October without official government support and in which more than 2.4 million Venezuelans voted. Analysts say Ms. Machado poses the biggest electoral threat to President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro.<\/p>\n
The Biden administration has tried to coax Venezuela\u2019s authoritarian government into holding elections by relaxing some of the sanctions that have decimated the country\u2019s oil industry, a vital source of income.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
In October, the Maduro government reached an agreement<\/a> with the opposition on steps toward a presidential vote, including allowing opponents to choose a candidate to run in elections that are supposed to be held this year, though a date has yet to be set.<\/p>\n The Biden administration indicated that more sanctions could be lifted if the Maduro government allowed candidates who had been disqualified from participating in elections. And Venezuela did agree to allow candidates barred from running for office to appeal their exclusion to the country\u2019s top court.<\/p>\n But Mr. Maduro\u2019s government has also repeatedly undercut the opposition\u2019s ability to mount a meaningful challenge.<\/p>\n The government has questioned the opposition primary\u2019s legitimacy and has taken legal aim at its organizers<\/a>.<\/p>\n The pressure has increased in recent days. Ms. Machado said that her campaign headquarters had been vandalized and that three of her campaign officials had been arrested.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n