Venezuela bars self-declared president Juan Guaido from leaving country Tuesday Jan 29,2019

Venezuela’s Supreme Tribunal of Justice barred self-declared president Juan Guaido from leaving the country and froze his bank accounts on Tuesday Jan 29.2019, as leader Nicolas Maduro seeks to neutralize the American-backed opposition chief.

The 35-year-old head of the National Assembly legislature “is prohibited from leaving the country until the end of the (preliminary) investigation” for having “caused harm to peace in the republic,” high court president Maikel Moreno said.

The court is stacked with Maduro loyalists.

The move came after the State Department revealed that Mr. Guaido — the National Assembly head and self-proclaimed interim president — has been handed control of Venezuela’s U.S. bank accounts.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo signed off on the order last week, which was then followed on Monday by U.S. sanctions targeting Venezuela’s state oil giant PDVSA, the cash-strapped government’s main source of hard currency.

“This certification will help Venezuela’s legitimate government safeguard those assets for the benefit of the Venezuelan people,” State Department spokesman Robert Palladino said in a statement.