Dinorah Figuera (born 15 April 1961[1]) is a Venezuelan physician and politician. She is a deputy and president of the IV National Assembly of Venezuela in exile in Spain.

Dinorah Figuera
Figuera in 2017
13th President of the National Assembly of Venezuela
Incumbent (contested)
Assumed office
5 January 2023
Disputed withJorge Rodríguez
Preceded byJuan Guaidó
Deputy of the National Assembly of Venezuela for Caracas
In office
5 January 2011 – 5 January 2021
Personal details
Born
Dinorah Figuera

(1961-04-15) 15 April 1961 (age 63)
Aragua, Venezuela
Political partyJustice First
EducationCentral University of Venezuela
ProfessionPhysician

Career

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Born in Aragua,[1] Dinorah Figuera was a student leader at the Central University of Venezuela where she graduated as a surgeon in 1991. As a member of Radical Cause party, she was undersecretary of the Libertador Municipality of Caracas between 1993 and 1996, during the administration of Aristóbulo Istúriz.[2] She was a figure during the 2017 protests in Venezuela.[2]

President of the National Assembly

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Figuera was elected as a deputy for Caracas in the III National Assembly and for Aragua in the IV National Assembly.[1] Figuera is exiled in Spain after escaping Venezuela through the French embassy in Caracas.

On 5 January 2023, Figuera was elected as president of the IV National Assembly, even though she remains in exile. Figuera was chosen to replace opposition figure Juan Guaidó.[3] After her election, the government of Venezuela issued an arrest warrant against her.[3]

In an interview with Reuters, Figuera said that she was confident that the Biden administration would protect the assets of Citgo Petroleum and the nearly $2 billion in gold that the Venezuelan governments holds in the Bank of England, which has been a dispute between the Maduro government and the opposition.[4]

On 2 April 2023, Figuera released a statement in support of her predecessor, Juan Guaidó, who had earlier denounced that the government planned to arrest him. Figuera condemned the intimidation against Guaidó and solidarized herself with him.[5] In another statement, Figuera deauthorized an opposition deputy who asked for a more softened stance on sanctions from the US, saying that said deputy did not represent the whole opposition National Assembly.[6]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "DIP. DINORAH FIGUERA" (in Spanish).
  2. ^ a b "Quién es Dinorah Figuera, la médica que reemplazó a Juan Guaidó en la presidencia de la Asamblea Nacional opositora de Venezuela". BBC News (in Spanish). 6 January 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Venezuela targets opposition figures with Interpol warrants". France 24. 9 January 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  4. ^ Pons, Corina (27 January 2023). "New Venezuela opposition leader confident U.S. will protect assets". Reuters. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  5. ^ Piña Pereira, Anderson (5 April 2023). "Dinorah Figuera pide a los venezolanos estar atentos ante posible detención de Guaidó" [Dinorah Figuera asks Venezuelans to be on alert before possible detention of Guaidó]. El Informador (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  6. ^ AP (19 April 2023). "Jefa de la AN desautoriza a representante en EEUU sobre sanciones" [Chief of the AN deauthorizes representative in the US on sanctions]. Diario Las Américas (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 April 2023.