Venezuela AG requests Interpol red notice for opposition's Leopoldo Lopez
ReutersJAN 11
Venezuela Requests Interpol Red Notice for Opposition's Leopoldo López
Above: Venezuela's opposition leader Leopoldo López speaks with Yulia Navalnaya, Chair of the Advisory Board of the Anti-Corruption Foundation, during the first day of the Web Summit in Lisbon, Portugal, on Nov. 12, 2024. Image copyright: Rita Franca/NurPhoto via Getty Images
The Facts
Venezuela's Attorney General Tarek William Saab announced on Monday that his office has requested an arrest warrant and Interpol red notice against exiled opposition leader Leopoldo López.
Saab detailed in remarks to the media that López has been charged with conspiracy and treason under the Penal Code, incitement to armed actions under the Simón Bolívar Law, and criminal association under the Law against Organized Crime.
The opposition leader who has lived in Spain since 2020 said on X on Saturday that a proposal for an international military intervention in Venezuela should be "seriously considered."
The Spin
Establishment-critical narrative
A longtime fugitive who found safe haven in Spain, Leopoldo López committed yet other crimes as he joined Colombia's criminal former Pres. Álvaro Uribe's irresponsible calls for an imperialist intervention to topple the legitimate constitutional government of Venezuela. He belongs in jail.
Pro-establishment narrative
López is just the latest opposition figure to be targeted as the Maduro regime borrows methods from Daniel Ortega's Nicaragua to crush dissent, with Pres.-elect González forced into exile and María Corina Machado briefly detained. One can be sure that this crackdown will further intensify in the coming months.
Metaculus Prediction
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