VENEZUELA’S government has ordered the arrest of three former politicians at the forefront of renewed efforts to oust President Nicolas Maduro.

Dinorah Figuera leads a team selected last week by fellow opposition politicians to lead the national assembly that was voted into office in 2015, though their five-year mandate ended in late 2020.

On Monday, Mr Maduro’s attorney-general Tarek William Saab announced that prosecutors had ordered the arrest of Ms Figuera and her two deputies on charges of treason, money laundering and impersonating public officials.

However, the arrest order is unlikely to be carried out. All three women, like many of Mr Maduro’s opponents, have fled Venezuela in recent years, fearing retaliation. Ms Figuera, a surgeon by training, lives in Spain.

Jorge Rodriguez, head of the national assembly, celebrated the announcement of the arrest orders, calling the 2015 national assembly a “band of thieves” for their attempts to win control of Venezuela’s extensive overseas oil assets.

Ms Figuera said the arrest order would not intimidate her and others from carrying out their role of protecting Venezuela’s overseas assets.

“We’ll continue with even greater strength,” she said on Monday during an online press conference.