Washington criticized the warrant, which followed weeks of comments from Venezuelan government officials that Gonzalez and other members of the opposition should be jailed, Paralel.Az reports citing Reuters.

"This is just another example of Mr. Maduro's efforts to maintain power by force and to refuse to recognize that Mr. Gonzalez won the most votes on the 28th of July," White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters.

"We're considering a range of options to demonstrate to Mr. Maduro and his representatives that their actions in Venezuela will have consequences."