Venezuela

Venezuelan prosecutors last week formally charged a leading opposition figure with corruption, as President Hugo Chavez pushed forward with plans for a referendum to end term limits. The figure, Manuel Rosales, was charged with presumed illicit enrichment during his two terms as governor of oil-rich Zulia State. The crime is punishable by 3 to 10 years in prison. Rosales, who ran against Chavez in the 2006 presidential election, denied any wrongdoing. “They are trying to lynch me politically in order to remove me from the political map,” he said. The charges are based on an investigation, prosecutors said in a statement, but they did not disclose details. (AP)