Venezuela opposition leaders re-arrested after poll

Reuters
Reuters
Author

09 August, 2017

"We don't know where he is or where they're taking him".

The measures were unusual in that they targeted a sitting head of state, but their reach was mostly symbolic, freezing any U.S. assets Maduro might have and banning people under USA jurisdiction from dealing with him.

Leopoldo Lopez, 46, and Antonio Ledezma, 62, had already been under house arrest when they were apparently detained in the early hours of Tuesday. Among other measures, he said he would use the assembly's powers to bar opposition candidates from running in gubernatorial elections in December unless they sit with his party to negotiate an end to hostilities that have generated four months of protests that have killed at least 120 and wounded almost 2,000.

He said the vote gave Mr Maduro "less legitimacy, less credibility, less popular support and less ability to govern".

"The constituent assembly has to express the will of the majority, not just of the chavistas (government supporters)", said Egido.

Maduro said Monday evening he had no intention of deviating from his plans to rewrite the constitution and go after a string of enemies, from independent Venezuelan news channels to gunmen he claimed were sent by neighboring Colombia to disrupt the vote as part of an worldwide conspiracy led by the man he calls "Emperor Donald Trump".

But he also praised the Venezuelan leader on his website as he set off on his first leadership contest, saying his radical policies were a "success".

"We keep calling the government of Venezuela to work towards urgent confidence-building measures aimed at de-escalating the tensions and fostering better conditions for resuming efforts towards a peaceful negotiated solution", said Catherine Ray, a spokeswoman for European Union diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini.

The falling price of oil, Venezuela's main source of export income, partnered with widespread corruption, has left people short of basic necessities such as food and medicine.

A spokeswoman for Mr Corbyn said the party's position was made clear in a statement on Monday from shadow foreign minister Liz McInnes.

Ruiz and Nunez were among 33 judges sworn in on July 21 by the National Assembly in defiance of Venezuela's government-stacked Supreme Court.

The president of the opposition-led National Assembly, Julio Borges, told Venezuelan news channel Globovision that Mr Maduro's foes would continue protesting until they won free elections and a change of government.

The National Electoral Council claimed more than 40 percent of Venezuela's 20 million voters had cast ballots Sunday.

Lopez confirmed in the video that his wife, Lilian Tintori's pregnancy was "another reason to fight for Venezuela" and added it was "the best news he had received in the last three and a half years".

Lopez had been released from the Ramo Verde military prison July 8 after serving three years of a 13-year sentence for inciting violence at opposition rallies.

Ledezma was placed under house arrest in 2015 after being imprisoned on charges of leading an alleged coup against Maduro. He was released last month to serve the rest of his term under house arrest.

Ledezma is a veteran of the social democrat Democratic Action party, the country's most powerful political force until Chavez came to power in 1999. Both men were taken from their homes to Ramo Verde, a military jail in a slum area about an hour's drive from the capital, according to lawyers and family.


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