Venezuela key opposition leaders seized after poll

[nitpicker]

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-40787830

Venezuela key opposition leaders seized after poll

28 minutes ago

From the section Latin America & Caribbean

Two Venezuelan opposition leaders, Leopoldo López and Antonio Ledezma, have been re-arrested, relatives of pair say. They were under house arrest after accusations of inciting violence during anti-government protests in 2014. Their families said they did not know where the two had been taken.

The move comes just two days after a controversial vote for a constitutional assembly saw violence on the streets, with at least 10 people killed. President Nicolás Maduro convened the assembly to rewrite Venezuela's constitution amid spiralling anti-government protests on 1 May. He argued that the move would create peace and foster dialogue by bringing together different sectors of Venezuela's polarised society.

But the opposition accused the president of trying to rewrite the constitution in order to maximise his power and sideline the opposition-controlled legislature. They boycotted the vote and called on Venezuelans to take to the streets in protest. The election was condemned by Latin American leaders, the European Union and the US.
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Days before the vote, Mr López recorded a video from his home, the first since he was transferred to house arrest on 8 July after spending more than three years in jail. In it, he said that President Maduro was threatening democracy in Venezuela.
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[Eugene]

1. Court says 2 Venezuela opposition leaders back to prison

Source: Associated Press

Court says 2 Venezuela opposition leaders back to prison

By MICHAEL WEISSENSTEIN
17 minutes ago

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Two of Venezuela’s leading opposition figures were taken from their homes in the middle of the night by state security agents on Tuesday in President Nicolas Maduro’s government’s first moves against prominent enemies since a widely denounced vote granting the ruling party nearly unlimited powers.

The Venezuelan Supreme Court said in a statement that Leopoldo Lopez and Antonio Ledezma had violated the terms of their house arrest by criticizing the government in messages released on social media in recent days.

The court, which is controlled by Maduro allies, also said that it had received “reports from official intelligence sources” that the two men had been planning to flee.

Relatives and allies of Lopez and former Caracas Mayor Ledezma earlier reported on social media that both had been detained. Lopez’s wife posted what appeared to be video of him being taken from their home after midnight.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/1c0eb98cbba243e0b3e256d14830a8ff/Court-says-2-Venezuela-opposition-leaders-back-to-prison