Barbara Cesar Siero told AFP that relatives were arrested to secure her signature on a ruling. Machado’s party renewed its demand to lift the ban.
Barbara Cesar Siero, a Venezuelan Supreme Court justice from December 2014 to February 2024, told AFP on October 8 that she signed the decision barring opposition leader Maria Corina Machado from elections under pressure from the authorities. She said two brothers and her sister-in-law, all members of the armed forces, were arrested in December 2023.
Cesar, 51, said she hoped her relatives would be released if she signed the document. They remained in detention. She said nine court rulings were brought to her for signature, including the ban on Machado.
Machado won an opposition primary in 2023 and was expected to run against then-President Nicolas Maduro the following year. The ban prevented her from being formally nominated, and the party chose diplomat Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia as her replacement at short notice. Maduro was declared the winner of the July 2024 vote. The opposition alleged fraud, and much of the international community did not recognize the results.
Cesar’s relatives were accused of plotting to kill Maduro and the governor of Tachira state. She called the case fabricated. One brother remains in detention, while her other brother and sister-in-law are free under judicial supervision.
After Cesar’s comments, Machado’s opposition party Vente called for the ban to be lifted immediately and for an urgent investigation. The former judge also said her country had no independent judiciary and that Maduro’s 2024 victory proclamation was not in accordance with the law. She described judicial reforms promised by interim President Delcy Rodriguez as futile.