Venezuela president says Juan Guaido will go to prison

BOGOTA, Colombia

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Friday that the government awaits for the day courts will order opposition leader Juan Guaido´s arrest.

“Look me in the eye, the day courts order the arrest of Juan Guaido for all the crimes he has committed, that day he will go to jail,” he said in a press conference on Friday. “Be assured, the day has not come, but it will come”.

Maduro, who had not spoken to the international press in days, summoned foreign media to the Miraflores Palace, his official workplace, and criticized the ambassadors who escorted Guaido in diplomatic convoys after arriving at the Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiquetia, Venezuela, on Feb. 11.

He also informed journalists about a lawsuit against U.S. President Donald Trump´s administration over economic sanctions imposed by Washington against Venezuela.

"In the field of diplomatic relations there can be differences, they have to be addressed, but one cannot use the position of economic dominance to harm a country and impose policies on it," he said.

Despite defying a court-imposed travel ban, Guaido was not arrested upon his return to Venezuela on Tuesday.

During his international tour aimed at ousting Maduro, the opposition leader visited the White House, the World Economic Forum and met high-ranking officials in Europe and Canada.

Other opposition leaders, such as Henrique Capriles, Fredy Guevara, and Leopoldo Lopez, have been detained in the past for challenging the Venezuelan government.