CARACAS - Venezuela's chief justice on Monday asked politicians to strip opposition leader Juan Guaido of immunity, taking a step towards prosecuting him for alleged crimes as he seeks to overthrow President Nicolas Maduro.

Supreme Court Justice Maikel Moreno said Guaido should be prosecuted for violating a ban on leaving the country when he went on a tour of Latin American countries that back a change in Venezuela's government.

The US-backed opposition leader, who has immunity from prosecution as head of the National Assembly, is also accused by Maduro's government of inciting violence linked to street protests and receiving illicit funds from abroad.

Guaido declared himself interim president in late January, saying Maduro's May 2018 re-election was illegitimate. Maduro accuses Guaido and the United States of staging a coup.

Maduro, who calls Guaido a puppet of the US, has said that he should "face justice", but has not openly called for Guaido's arrest.

The chief prosecutor's office has opened an investigation of Guaido but has not ordered his arrest or officially charged him with anything.

Last week, the Venezuelan government said it was barring Guaido from holding office for 15 years, a move the opposition leader brushed off.

On Monday, Guaido dismissed the Maduro-stacked High Court as illegitimate and continued his calls for Maduro to step down. He accused the socialist leader of using the constant blackouts across the country as political capital. The opposition leader has said years of neglect by the government has left the grid in shambles - not sabotage as Maduro claims.(FA)