A former Venezuelan Supreme Court justice, Barbara Cesar Siero, revealed on October 8 that she was coerced into signing an election ban against opposition leader Maria Corina Machado due to threats and the arrest of her family members in December 2023. Siero’s statement has prompted calls from Machado’s party for the ban to be lifted immediately, citing government interference and lack of judicial independence in Venezuela.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-09,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
A former Venezuelan Supreme Court justice, Barbara Cesar Siero, revealed on October 8 that she signed an order banning opposition leader Maria Corina Machado from running in elections due to government coercion. In December 2023, two of her brothers and a sister-in-law were arrested by the military to force her signature; they remained detained despite her compliance. Cesar, who served as a justice from December 2014 to February 2024, stated she signed under duress but now views the ban as illegitimate. Machado won an opposition primary in 2023 and was set to challenge President Nicolas Maduro, only to be barred from formally becoming a candidate. Her party then nominated diplomat Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia as her replacement at short notice. The election, held in July 2024, resulted in Maduro's declared victory, though the opposition alleged fraud and much of the international community did not recognize the results.
Written for “Venezuela Election Ban Controversy” on 2026-10-09,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
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The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.50, but 1 quote(s) could not be found in the article and the other 2 are attributed speech rather than the article's own narration, so the score is not published.
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Leaning score withheld for article 67574: no verified evidence · logged 2026-10-09
Venezuelan ex-judge says forced to sign Machado election ban
AI generated
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judge → say → ban
SAN ANTONIO DE LOS ALTOS – A former Venezuelan judge told AFP on Oct 8 that she signed off on banning opposition leader Maria Corina Machado from elections due to government threats, a revelation that has renewed demands to overturn the ban.
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that → tell → ban
Barbara Cesar Siero, a Supreme Court justice from December 2014 to February 2024, said that two of her brothers and her sister-in-law, all military personnel, were arrested in December 2023 in an attempt to force her to sign the ban.
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two → say → ban
“I thought to myself: maybe if I sign, they’ll give them back...
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they → think → them
I ended up signing, and they kept them in detention,” Cesar, 51, told AFP.
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Cesar → end → AFP
Machado won an opposition primary in 2023 to take on then-president Nicolas Maduro in the following year’s election, but the ban prevented her from formally being named as a candidate.
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ban → win → candidate
Her party designated Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, a little-known diplomat, as her replacement at short notice.
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party → designate → notice
Maduro was eventually declared the winner of the July 2024 vote, but the opposition claimed it was marred by fraud and the results were not recognised by much of the international community.
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results → declare → community
In January, Maduro was captured by the US military and taken to New York to face drug trafficking and other charges, in an operation that Washington said was justified in part due to the disputed election.
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Washington → capture → election
Cesar’s comments prompted Machado’s opposition party to call for the immediate lifting of her ineligibility to run for office.
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comments → prompt → office
“Maria Corina Machado’s ineligibility, illegal from the outset... was only achieved by using relatives of a judge \as hostages...
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ineligibility → achieve → hostages
This ineligibility must be lifted IMMEDIATELY,” the Vente party wrote in a statement.
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party → lift → statement
The government used “arresting and punishing family members to break someone’s will.
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government → use → will
In this case, forcing a Supreme Court justice to sign illegal decisions”, added Vente, which called for an urgent investigation.
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which → force → investigation
In December 2023, after her relatives were arrested, Cesar said she was brought nine orders to sign, including the ban on Machado.
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she → arrest → Machado
“At that time, anyone who spoke out was put in prison,” Cesar said.
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Cesar → speak → prison
“And what I might do could have consequences for them.”
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do → have → them
Her relatives were accused of plotting to kill Maduro and the governor of Tachira in a fabricated case.
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relatives → accuse → case
Cesar believes there is no independence of the judiciary in her country, saying that the proclamation of Maduro’s victory in 2024 was “truly not in accordance with the law”.
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proclamation → believe → law
“From that point on, all powers became illegitimate, completely,” Cesar said, adding that she views the judicial reforms promised by interim president Delcy Rodriguez as futile.
“What needs to be done is to apply the laws as they are written, without interference.
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they → become → interference
Let the judges be judges, the governor be governor, the mayor be mayor,” she said.
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she → let → ?
The Aporia
