Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez says he is prepared to return to jail rather than abandon his campaign to remove President Nicolas Maduro from power.
The Latest on the transfer of jailed Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez from a military to house arrest (all times local) :
2: 00 p.m.
Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez says he is prepared to return to jail rather than abandon his campaign to remove President Nicolas Maduro from power.
Lawmaker and close ally Freddy Guevara read a statement from Lopez outside his home Saturday, hours after Lopez was moved from a military prison to house arrest.
In the statement Lopez said he has no intention of giving up his beliefs. He said his opposition to Maduro’s government is as firm as his “convictions to fight for a real peace, coexistence, change and freedom.”
In his words, he is now “a prisoner in my home, like the Venezuelan people.”
The 46-year-old Lopez spent more than three years at the military prison. He was sentenced to nearly 14 years for inciting violence during anti-government protests in which three people died and dozens were wounded.
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1: 40 p.m.
Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez has saluted supporters outside his home in the capital after being moved from a military prison to house arrest.
Lopez clutched a Venezuelan flag and briefly stood atop a wall outside the home where dozens had gathered to see him Saturday.
The 46-year-old opposition activist spent more than three years at the military prison on a nearly 14-year sentence for inciting violence during anti-government protests in which three people died and dozens were wounded.
Lopez’s transfer has fueled hopes for a broader amnesty for dozens of jailed activists as the country slides ever deeper into political turmoil.
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