President Donald Trump has warned that the US holds Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro “personally responsible” for the safety of the seized opposition leaders Leopoldo López and Antonio Ledezma.
In a statement, President Trump also called for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners.
Leopoldo López and Antonio Ledezma, who had been under house arrest, were taken to a military prison on August 1.
This came after July 30 controversial vote for a constitutional assembly.
At least 10 people were killed, as the opposition boycotted the election.
President Nicolas Maduro said the poll was a “vote for the revolution”, arguing that the move would create peace and foster dialogue by bringing together different sectors of Venezuela’s polarized society.
The opposition said on August 1 that it had decided to hold a demonstration against the new assembly on August 3.
Opposition lawmaker Freddy Guevara tweeted the rally would be held on “the day the dictatorship plans to install the fraudulent assembly”.
It had originally been thought that the government would open the constituent assembly on Wednesday, thereby evicting the opposition-controlled National Assembly.
In his statement, President Trump said the US condemned the actions of the “Maduro dictatorship”.
Leopoldo López and Antonio Ledezma were “political prisoners being held illegally by the regime”, he added.
“The United States holds Maduro – who publicly announced just hours earlier that he would move against his political opposition – personally responsible for the health and safety of Mr. López, Mr. Ledezma and any others seized.”
Earlier, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson described the re-arrest of Leopoldo López and Antonio Ledezma as “very alarming”.
“The situation from a humanitarian standpoint is already becoming dire,” he said.
“We are evaluating all of our policy options as to what can we do to create a change of conditions, where either Maduro decides he doesn’t have a future and wants to leave of his own accord, or we can return the government processes back to their constitution.”
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced on July 31 that the US had imposed sanctions on President Maduro.
Leopoldo López was taken from his home at 12:27 local time on August 1, his wife, Lilian Tintori, wrote on Twitter.
A video posted showed Leopoldo López being taken away by members of the Venezuelan intelligence service, Sebin.
The daughter of Antonio Ledezma, Vanessa Ledezma, also posted a video of her father, wearing pajamas, being taken away by the Sebin.
Both Leopoldo López and Antonio Ledezma were key figures in the wave of protests which swept through Venezuela in 2014 in which 43 people from both sides of the political divide were killed.
They have played a less prominent role in the most recent protests because they have been under house arrest but their video messages still get reported and shared widely on opposition websites.
Venezuelan opposition leaders Leopoldo López and Antonio Ledezma have been re-arrested in a move condemned internationally.
Leopoldo López and Antonio Ledezma were under house arrest after accusations of inciting violence during anti-government protests in 2014.
They have been taken to Ramo Verde military jail, family members say.
The Supreme Court, which critics say is dominated by government loyalists, said it had received intelligence reports alleging the two were trying to flee.
The court also said that it had revoked Antonio Ledezma’s and Leopoldo López’s house arrest because they had made political statements.
The UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, said he was “deeply concerned” that the pair had been taken back into custody.
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 spiraling anti-government protests on May 1.
He argued that the move would create peace and foster dialogue by bringing together different sectors of Venezuela’s polarized society.
However, the opposition accused the president of trying to rewrite the constitution in order to maximize 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 EU and the US.
The day of the election was the deadliest so far since the current wave of protest began.
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced on July 31 that the US had imposed sanctions on President Nicolas Maduro and called him a “dictator who disregards the will of the Venezuelan people”.
Leopoldo López was taken from his home at 12:27 local time on August 1, his wife, Lilian Tintori, wrote on Twitter.
A video posted showed Leopoldo López being taken away by members of the Venezuelan intelligence service, Sebin.
Lilian Tintori wrote that she would hold President Nicolás Maduro responsible if something were to happen to her husband.
The daughter of Antonio Ledezma, Vanessa Ledezma, also posted a video of her father, wearing pyjamas, being taken away by the Sebin.
A woman can be heard shouting: “They’re taking Ledezma, they’re taking Ledezma, dictatorship!”
The EU criticized the detentions as a step in the wrong direction and Chile’s foreign minister said they “sent an abysmal signal”.
The US also condemned the arrests. Republican Senator Marco Rubio noted that VP Mike Pence has spoken to Leopoldo López on July 28, and characterized the arrests as a response to the sanctions placed on President Maduro.
Both Antonio Ledezma and Leopoldo López were key figures in the wave of protests which swept through Venezuela in 2014 in which 43 people from both sides of the political divide were killed.
Leopoldo López and Antonio Ledezma have played a less prominent role in the most recent protests because they have been under house arrest but their video messages still get reported and shared widely on opposition websites.
Venezuela has indicted Caracas Mayor Antonio Ledezma for plotting violence against the government – a move strongly condemned by the country’s opposition.
The attorney general’s office said Antonio Ledezma, 59, would remain in a military prison pending his trial.
President Nicolas Maduro earlier accused the opposition mayor of being involved in a US-backed coup.
This comes on the anniversary of the start of protests against Nicolas Maduro’s rule that left dozens of people dead.
On February 20, opponents of President Nicolas Maduro again protested in Caracas against what they described as a crackdown on his political opponents.
The US has also denounced the “systemic intimidation” by the Venezuelan authorities of the country’s opposition.
State department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said: “Venezuela’s problems cannot be solved by criminalizing legitimate, democratic dissent.”
The attorney general’s office said on February 20 that Antonio Ledezma was charged with conspiracy to plot violence against the government.
This came a day after camouflaged police smashed into the mayor’s office in the banking district and carried him away.
President Nicolas Maduro has said the opposition leader must answer “for all the crimes committed against the country’s peace and security”.
Venezuela’s opposition is now demanding the authorities produce any evidence of the alleged conspiracy.
Opposition leader Henrique Capriles asked: “Does Maduro think that putting everyone in prison is going to get him 50 popularity points or that he’s going to win elections?”
Antonio Ledezma was on a list of people and foreign powers named by Nicolas Maduro last week as attempting to bring down his administration.
Antonio Ledezma, Caracas mayor since 2008, replied that it was government corruption that was bringing down Venezuela.
Last year, weeks of anti-government protests in Venezuela led to more than 40 deaths.
Venezuela’s economy has been heavily affected by the drop in oil prices and in late January, thousands of people joined an opposition march in Caracas.
Venezuelans voiced dissatisfaction with high inflation, crime and the shortage of many staple goods in the shops.
Caracas Mayor Antonio Ledezma has been arrested amid accusations of a coup attempt in Venezuela.
President Nicolas Maduro said the opposition leader must answer “for all the crimes committed against the country’s peace and security”.
Camouflaged police smashed into the mayor’s office and carried him away.
The arrest comes on the anniversary of the start of months of protests against Nicolas Maduro’s rule that left dozens of people dead.
The Human Rights Watch group has called for Antonio Ledezma’s immediate release.
Hundreds of people gathered at the intelligence agency’s HQ in Caracas to protest at the arrest.
Nicolas Maduro said: “Mr. Ledezma, who today by order of the prosecution was captured, must be processed by Venezuelan justice to answer for all the crimes committed against the country’s peace, security, constitution.”
The Caracas mayor was on a list of people and foreign powers named by Nicolas Maduro last week as attempting to bring down his administration.
Antonio Ledezma, Caracas mayor since 2008, replied that it was government corruption that was bringing down Venezuela.
He was taken on February 19 from his office in the banking district.
Opposition legislator Ismael Garcia wrote on Twitter: “I just saw how they took Ledezma out of his office as if he were a dog. They broke down the doors without an arrest warrant.”
A member of Antonio Ledezma’s security detail said about 10 men with guns and a hatchet came for the mayor, bundling him out of the building.
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