CARACAS,  (Reuters) – Interpol has issued an arrest  warrant for Venezuelan opposition leader Manuel Rosales, who is  seeking asylum in Peru after President Hugo Chavez’s government  accused him of corruption, authorities said yesterday.

Rosales says the charges of illicit enrichment are part of  a political witch-hunt by Chavez against critics of his  socialist revolution. But government supporters say the case is  a simple corruption probe and that Rosales is evading justice.

“Interpol already has a red alert out for the capture of  Manuel Rosales,” said Wilmer Flores, Venezuela’s chief  investigative police officer, who serves as a liaison between  the international agency and the OPEC nation’s government.

Rosales’ lawyer in Lima, Javier Valle Riestra, has said  Interpol could not intervene after the asylum request was  filed. But an Interpol official in Peru said on Thursday the  order was in the process of being transmitted and didn’t rule  out his arrest.

Rosales is the most visible face of the country’s fractured  opposition. He was elected mayor of oil-hub city Maracaibo last  year after losing a presidential bid against Chavez in 2006.

Critics say Chavez has taken control of the justice system  and is wielding it against opposition leaders through  trumped-up corruption charges while largely leaving allies  untouched. Chavez vowed last year to jail Rosales.    Rosales went into hiding last month claiming he could not  receive a fair trial, and failed to appear at a preliminary  court hearing that would have set a trial date. The court  ordered his arrest after his no-show.