Venezuela top court judge flees, offers U.S. information on Maduro corruption

A Venezuelan Supreme Court justice who has been a longtime government loyalist has fled to the United States, saying he’s protesting President Nicolas Maduro’s upcoming second term.

Christian Zerpa said Sunday that Venezuela’s high court has become an appendage of Maduro’s inner circle since he and a group of ruling party members were appointed to the bench in 2015. Venezuela’s government lacks the any type of separation of powers, he said.

“We are in the presence of an autocracy that has condemned to death any opposition to this particular vision of power,” Zerpa told Miami-based broadcaster EVTV.

Calling Venezuela a “failed state,” he said the government “has only brought hunger, misery and destruction to the country.”

A once wealthy oil nation, Venezuela is in the throes of a historic crisis after two decades of rule by Hugo Chavez and more recently Nicolas Maduro. Millions have fled, while runaway inflation leaves those remaining behind struggling to afford scarce food and medicine.

Maduro is scheduled to take the oath of office on Thursday, launching a second, six-year term that critics say is illegitimate. Political opponents and many foreign nations consider his re-election in May a sham after popular opponents were banned from running and the largest anti-government parties boycotted the race.

Apologizes for protecting Maduro

Zerpa said that he fled with his family to Florida because he didn’t want to play a role legitimizing Maduro’s rule when the Supreme Court swears him in.

He apologized for propping up Maduro’s government, saying that he feared being jailed as a dissident where his life would be put at risk.

Supreme Court chief justice Maikel Moreno — a Maduro loyalist — said Sunday that Zerpa fled to escape allegations of sexual harassment charges lodged by women in his office.

Zerpa was interviewed by Miami-based EVTV:

Zerpa, who said he is now willing to collaborate with a sweeping U.S. investigation into corruption and human rights abuses among Venezuela’s well-connected, described receiving directions from the influential first lady Celia Flores on how to rule in politically sensitive cases.

As a newly installed justice, he recounted being summoned to the court and told to sign off on a key election ruling disqualifying candidates without first reviewing details of the case.

He is among the top Venezuelan officials who have been sanctioned by Canada, but he has not been targeted by U.S. authorities, who accuse dozens in Maduro’s administration as contributing to the crisis.

Pressure has been mounting against Maduro internationally and from his political opponents still inside Venezuela.

Vowing to battle Maduro

A dozen Latin American governments and Canada delivered a blistering rebuke of Maduro on Friday, rejecting the legitimacy of his second term and urging him to hand over power as the only path to restoring democracy.

The opposition-led congress on Saturday opened its session for the year vowing to battle against Maduro’s socialist administration.

Maduro says he intends to take the oath despite his critics and press ahead with the socialist revolution, promising a turnaround of the failing economy.

“The revolution is stronger today than ever, more experienced than ever, to defend the sovereignty of the country,” he said. “Venezuelans have the opportunity to enjoy 2019 as a year of prosperity and progress.”

Opposition lawmaker Julio Borges, who lives in self-imposed exile fearing for his safety, sent a letter Monday to the leaders of Latin American nations urging them to maintain pressure on Maduro’s government.

“The inhuman arrogance of this dictatorship led by Nicolas Maduro personally challenges the heads of state of the region,” Borges said. “It’s not fair that a whole country should perish to satisfy one man’s lust for power.”

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