2017: Henrique Capriles Was Disqualified from Holding Public Office for Fifteen Years

A recent Opinion Piece in the New York Times accused President Maduro of “…outright banning opposition candidates and parties from running.” [1] This charge is a repeat of a statement made by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo about the 2018 Presidential election: The regime “…. banned major opposition parties and leaders from participating.” [2] One of the political leaders that is mentioned as having been “banned” by Maduro from the 2018 Presidential Election is Henrique Capriles.

Henrique Capriles was the leader of the First Justice Party. Capriles had been the main opposition candidate in the 2012 Presidential election which he lost to Hugo Chavez by 11% and the 2013 Presidential election which he lost to Maduro by 1.5%. In 2018, Capriles was serving as Governor of Miranda state to which he had been elected in 2008 and reelected in 2012. The candidacy of Capriles for the 2018 Presidential election was announced in March 2017.[3]

The Comptroller General is part of the Citizens Branch which is one of the five independent Branches of the national government. The Comptroller General monitors the actions of the other four branches watching for violations of the law to assure the proper administration and use of public funds. Manuel Galindo, a lawyer and former Attorney General, was elected Comptroller General by the National Assembly in December 2014 to serve a seven-year term.

The Comptroller General’s office initiated an investigation into Capriles in September 2016. A public hearing was held on the case in January 2017. Galindo noted that Capriles did not appear at the hearing but was represented by attorneys and had “full rights to defense.” [4] On April 6, 2017, The Comptroller General’s office announced that Capriles was disqualified from exercising public functions for a period of 15 years which would take effect when he ceased his functions as Governor.[5] Galindo released the Comptroller General’s report outlining the charges against Capriles:[5]

·        He committed administrative offenses during his term as governor of Miranda in 2011, 2012, and 2013.

·        He acted negligently by not presenting the draft Budget Law for the fiscal year2013 to the Legislative Council of the state of Miranda.

·        He signed international cooperation agreements between the governorate and the Embassies of Poland and Great Britain without the required legal authorization.

·        The contractor selection procedure was omitted, thereby compromising the public budget through direct contracting.

The Comptroller General’s notification to Capriles said that he had 15 working days to appeal the decision at that office or 180 days to ask for its annulment at the Supreme Court. Capriles did not appeal the decision. He did not provide a rebuttal or an explanation about the charges. When asked about the donations mentioned in the ban, neither the British Embassy or Polish Embassy responded.[6]

Galindo explained that administrative disqualification is exclusively imposed by the Comptroller General.



    

1.Corrales, Javier, Maduro’s Unbreakable Repression machine will outlast him, New York Times, November 4, 2025

2.Pompeo, Mike, An Unfair, Unfree Vote in Venezuela, Department of State, May 21, 2018.

3.Venezuelanalysis, Venezuelan Opposition Announces Preliminary Candidates for 2018 Presidential Elections, March 23, 2017.

4. Alba Ciudad, Comptroller General: Capriles case has no relation to Odebrecht company, January 12, 2017.

5.Alba Ciudad, These are the Reasons why Capriles Radonski was disqualified for 15 years, April 7, 2017.

6. Reuters, Leading Venezuela opposition figure barred from office 15 years, April 8, 2017.

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