Oct 24, 2020 - World

Opposition leader Leopoldo López flees Venezuela

Rebecca Falconer

Venezuelan opposition politician Leopoldo López outside the Spanish embassy in Caracas, in 2019. Photo: Juan Barreto/AFP via Getty Images

Leopoldo López, a former political prisoner and prominent Venezuelan opposition leader, has left the country, his Popular Will party confirmed in a statement Saturday.

Why it matters: He's been highly influential in the push to oust President Nicolás Maduro's regime and a mentor to opposition leader Juan Guaidó. He'd been in the Spanish ambassador's Caracas residence since escaping house arrest in April 2019 following a failed military uprising.

Details: Both his party and Spain's Ministry of Exterior confirmed his departure but would not be drawn on his whereabouts.

His father, Leopoldo López Sr., a member of European Parliament for Spain's conservative opposition Popular Party, told AFP López had fled a couple of days ago before crossing the border to Colombia Friday. He was expected to arrive in Spain Sunday, he said.
It's unclear how López managed to evade the heavy security outside the ambassador's residence, AP notes.

What they're saying: "After seven years of persecution and unjust imprisonment inside Venezuela, Leopoldo López is still not totally free, like all Venezuelans, so long as there exists a dictatorship that violates the human rights of the people," the Popular Will party said in its statement.

Guaidó posted a tweet directed at Maduro, saying "evading your repressive apparatus, we managed to get" López into another location, from where his fight against the regime continues.

Flashback: The most important political prisoner in Latin America

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Opposition leader Leopoldo López flees Venezuela

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