MADELIN, Colombia (AP) – Famous opposition activist Leopoldo LaPaze has left the Spanish ambassador’s home in Caracas and Venezuela after years of frustrated efforts to oust the nation’s socialist president, his party said on Saturday.
The 49-year-old Caracas-area mayor has been held at the ambassador’s residence since a failed military coup in April 2019 aimed at ousting President Nicolas Maduro. He has been incarcerated for almost seven years or imprisoned under the auspices of a foreign embassy.
In a statement from the Popular Popular Will, which founded the Lopez party, the leaders confirmed that they had left the country to continue their work abroad in the country’s best decision and decision for Venezuela’s fight for independence.
“After seven years of persecution and unjust imprisonment inside Venezuela, Leopoldo Lપેpez is still not completely free like all Venezuelans, unless there is a dictatorship that violates the human rights of the people.”
Due to the heavy state security presence permanently stationed outside the property, it is not clear how L’Page left the ambassador’s residence. Land travel has become increasingly difficult due to widespread fuel shortages. Filling a vehicle with gas can take hours if not days and checkpoints set up by security forces are spread across the country.
US-backed opposition leader Juan Guede said in a message to Maduro on Twitter that his political mentors had left Venezuela “avoiding your oppressive apparatus”. He added that López’s efforts to oust Maduro from abroad would continue as part of a counter-strategy to gain international support.
“Maduro you have no control over anything,” Guude wrote.
There was no immediate reaction from Venezuelan officials.
LaPaz was sentenced in 2015 to nearly 14 years in prison after he was found guilty of inciting violence during anti-government protests in which three people died and dozens were injured. After more than three years in a military prison, he was released from prison and held under house arrest.
Even within his limits, LaPaz has been an influential figure in Venezuela’s opposition, advising Gaddy, who claims he is the country’s interim president because Maduro’s 2018 election was not legitimate.
But after drawing thousands of people to the streets last year, the opposition has struggled to regain momentum. Maduro remains stable under the control of the nation’s military and almost all other government institutions.
Gade has vowed to boycott the Lapis flight, which is expected to be held by the government as a trophy as it prepares to regain control of the National Assembly in the December assembly elections. Lopez stubbornly refused to go even when his wife and children fled Spain last year.
He will join dozens of anti-government politicians who have fled Venezuela in recent years, many of whom fled in secret to avoid possible persecution or imprisonment.
“This is a clear indication that the persistent opposition to Maduro’s ouster has led to widespread outcry that a committed stay-in-Venezuela leader like Lopez has finally chosen to leave,” said Raul Gallegos, a Colombia-based analyst at Control Risks Consultancy. , Said Columbia-based analyst at Control Risk Consultancy.
Lopez devised a strategy in 2014 to hold street protests months after Maduro’s election. The strategy failed and eventually divided the opponents. He was arrested and charged with treason by human rights groups.
His tough stance, backed by Washington Washington, will eventually dominate the fierce opposition that followed Gaud. A follower of La Paz, he became congressional president and is now recognized by Venezuela as the rightful leader of more than 0 countries.
López spent years in military prisons, during which he read the works of Nelson Mandela and continued to practice rigorous exercise, which strengthened his image as a man willing to rid the country of Maduro to endanger his own skin.
He found allies among his former jailers in the army and reappeared on the highway overpass in 2019 with a small band of national guards vowing to revolt against Maduro. Putin was easily beaten and Lopez took refuge in the ambassador’s residence.
Since then, Lepez has struggled to maintain the same leadership. When Gaddafi named him as his cabinet chief, many in the opposition coalition, including Washington, envied his influence in Washington, peacefully trying to weaken him, accusing him of being a messiah complex and failing to agree.
Spain’s ambassador, Jesus Silva, who has been dean of Caracas’ declining diplomatic community, was recalled by the Spanish left-wing government just four days after serving four years in Madrid.
Silva, a career diplomat, was a staunch supporter of L’Page. But under the control of previous Spanish administrators who were once ousted by Maduro, they were less effective than the interlingual when the Spanish socialist government took power.
Although his whereabouts remain unknown, some opposition leaders have praised LaPaz’s decision to flee.
Antonio Ladezma, the former mayor of Caracas, said: “We are waiting for you in the dinospora soon after you were jailed for conspiracy to escape on a dangerous track outside the country in 2017. Put Maduro in jail.
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