Venezuelan opposition candidate blocked by court calls it 'judicial criminality,' won't abandon race

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado says the court ruling blocking her presidential candidacy represents “judicial criminality” and vows to stay in the race

CARACAS, Venezuela -- Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado on Monday called the court ruling blocking her presidential candidacy last week “judicial criminality” and vowed to stay in the race, declaring that the decision embodies the ruling party's fear of having to face her at the polls.

Machado, surrounded by supporters and other opposition leaders, told reporters she expects government repression and other obstacles to increase against her and her team.

She would not explain the steps she plans to take to be allowed to participate in the presidential election, only insisting that her team continues to organize across the South American country.

“It cannot be called a sentence. It is not even an arbitrary decision. This is called judicial criminality,” Machado said of Friday's ruling by the Supreme Tribunal of Justice. “If they believe that they declared my disqualification, then let them know well, they declared the end of this tyranny ... because people are clear and are not going to allow themselves to be stripped of their Oct. 22 decision.”

The former lawmaker won a presidential primary in October by the faction of the opposition backed by the United States. She secured more than 90% of the vote despite the government of President Nicolás Maduro announcing a 15-year ban on her running for office days after she formally entered the race.