Ex-foreign minister to run in Venezuelan election do over

By REGINA GARCIA CANO
Associated Press

BARINAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has named a former foreign minister as his party’s candidate for a special gubernatorial election in the home state of his predecessor and mentor, Hugo Chávez. The election was scheduled after the opposition contender in November’s regular contest was retroactively disqualified. Maduro on Sunday declared Jorge Arreaza as the ruling party’s candidate for governor of the rural state of Barinas. Arreaza promised a crowd gathered for the announcement a comprehensive review of their communities’ needs. The announcement came less than a week after the country’s highest court disqualified Freddy Superlano as he was leading the vote count.