Venezuela attorney general arrests two Machado allies, warrants out for seven others

Venezuela attorney general Tarek Saab said on Wednesday two people close to opposition candidate Maria Corina Machado have been arrested and seven others, including Machado's right-hand Magalli Meda, have warrants out for their detention. The arrests are set to complicate an already-confused scenario ahead of the July presidential contest, because though Machado won an October primary by a landslide, she is barred from registering her candidacy.

Opposition parties have been pressuring Machado to name a substitute who can register before a March 25 deadline, and Meda had been one of the people floated as a possible alternate.