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.
Cuba will not return to the Organization of American States (OAS), says President Raul Castro in a show of solidarity with Venezuela.
OAS Secretary General Luis Almargo has called for sanctions against Venezuela.
At a summit of Caribbean countries in Havana, President Raul Castro called the OAS “an instrument of imperialist domination”.
Meanwhile, former Spanish PM Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has met jailed Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez.
It was Leopoldo Lopez’s first visit from anyone other than family members or lawyers since the 45-year-old was sentenced to 14 years in prison last year after being found guilty of inciting violence.
Leopoldo Lopez’s supporters insist he is innocent and say he was jailed on trumped-up, politically-motivated charges.
The meeting at Ramo Verde military prison outside Caracas lasted about 90 minutes, according to Adriana Lopez, the opposition leader’s sister.
Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero is trying to negotiate between the opposition and the government in Venezuela’s worsening political crisis.
Cuba was expelled from the OAS in 1962 but following a recent thaw in relations with the US it was suggested that the island might return.
However, Raul Castro appeared to rule out the possibility, offering “our most firm solidarity to our brothers the Venezuelan people, to the legitimate government of President Nicolas Maduro”.
President Nicolas Maduro is locked in a dispute with the OAS over opposition demands in Venezuela for a recall referendum.
Luis Almargo said earlier this week that “the institutional crisis in Venezuela demands immediate changes in the actions of the executive branch”.
He has called an emergency meeting of the OAS at which member states will decide whether to invoke the Inter-American Democratic Charter, which could lead to Venezuela’s suspension from the OAS.
Venezuela’s opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez has been sentenced to 13 years and nine months in jail for inciting violence.
Leopoldo Lopez, 44, was found guilty of inciting violence during protests in 2014 in which 43 people – from both sides of the political divide – were killed.
He had been held in a military prison since February 2014.
While the court verdict was being awaited, fighting broke out between his supporters and pro-government activists outside the courthouse in Caracas.
Leopoldo Lopez’s supporters said one of them had suffered a heart-attack during the disturbances.
The court ruling was revealed by Leopoldo Lopez’s Voluntad Popular (Popular Will) political party and later confirmed by his lawyers.
Leopoldo Lopez’s defense team earlier said there had been serious irregularities in the trial, with the judge hearing 138 witnesses for the prosecution but only one of the 50 witnesses and pieces of evidence submitted by the defense.
His family says he has been in solitary confinement for most of his 19 months in prison and that his human rights have been violated.
Several other opposition leaders have also been held in detention and their fate has divided opinion in Venezuela.
The US government and the United Nations have called for their release.
Reacting to the court verdict, US Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Roberta Jacobson said she was “deeply concerned” by the conviction.
Roberta Jacobson also urged the Venezuelan government to “protect democracy” in the country.
For many poorer Venezuelans, Leopoldo Lopez is seen as a dangerous figure who incites violence and coups against the government and who is out of touch with the needs of most ordinary people.
His critics point to his involvement in 2002 in a failed coup attempt against late President Hugo Chavez.
However, Leopoldo Lopez’s supporters say he is a scapegoat for current President Nicolas Maduro during Venezuela’s economic crisis that has led to shortages of basic goods.
Eight Brazilian senators visiting Venezuela to meet jailed opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez say they had to flee after their bus was attacked.
The Brazilian opposition politicians were trying to meet former mayor Leopoldo Lopez, who is in jail accused of inciting violence during protests.
The senators said the bus was stoned as it travelled from Caracas airport.
Brazil’s foreign ministry says it will seek an explanation from the Venezuelan government.
One of the senators, Ronaldo Caiado, tweeted: “Our bus was under siege; they were beating and trying to break it. I filmed them throwing stones against the bus.”
Another, former presidential candidate Aecio Neves, said: “We are here to defend democracy and until now the Venezuelan government has shown little appreciation of it.”
The group returned to the airport and is reportedly waiting to go back to Brazil.
The incident occurred a few hours after the senators landed in Caracas airport.
Earlier this month former Spanish PM Felipe Gonzales left Caracas earlier than expected after his attempts to speak to Leopoldo Lopez, who has been in jail for more than a year.
Leopoldo Lopez is accused of inciting violence during protests last year. More than 40 people, from both sides of the political divide, were killed in months of demonstrations against the government of Nicolas Maduro.
President Nicolas Maduro’s government is wary of foreign support of Venezuelan opposition leaders.
The Brazilian Foreign Ministry said hostile acts against its politicians were unacceptable and promised to seek an explanation from Venezuela.
It released a statement June18 saying:“The Brazilian government regrets the incidents that affected this visit to Venezuela.”
“Hostile acts from protesters toward Brazilian lawmakers are unacceptable,” the statement added.
Venezuela is expelling three US consular officials, accusing them of meeting students involved in anti-government protests.
The country has seen growing political tension and rallies, with three protesters dying in clashes last week.
An arrest warrant has been issued for opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, who has pledged to lead a march in the capital Caracas on Tuesday.
The US has expressed concern about arrests of opposition protesters.
President Nicolas Maduro did not name the US officials being expelled, when he made the announcement in a national TV broadcast, but said the foreign ministry would give details later.
“It’s a group of US functionaries who are in the universities. We’ve been watching them having meetings in the private universities for two months. They work in visas,” the president said.
“Venezuela doesn’t take orders from anyone!” he added.
On Saturday, US Secretary of State John Kerry issued a statement expressing concern about the rising tensions in Venezuela.
Venezuela is expelling three US consular officials, accusing them of meeting students involved in anti-government protests
“We are particularly alarmed by reports that the Venezuelan government has arrested or detained scores of anti-government protestors and issued an arrest warrant for opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez,” read the statement.
The main opposition grievances are high inflation, crime and the shortage of some staples.
The government has blamed the shortages on “saboteurs” and “profit-hungry corrupt businessmen”.
Opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez was last seen on Wednesday, when three men were shot dead at the end of opposition protests in the capital.
President Nicolas Maduro says an arrest warrant was issued against Leopoldo Lopez shortly after the incidents.
Nicolas Maduro has accused Leopoldo Lopez of inciting violence as part of a coup plot against his left-wing government.
The opposition says they were killed by pro-government militias known as “colectivos”.
Leopoldo Lopez, 42, is a former mayor of Chacao district, in eastern Caracas. He organized the recent protests against the government.
On Sunday morning, Venezuelan police searched the houses of Leopoldo Lopez and his parents.
Hours later, he posted a new message on Twitter and a three-minute long video. He said he had not committed any crime and challenged the authorities to arrest him at the next protest.
“I want to invite all of you to join me on a march on Tuesday from Venezuela Square [in central Caracas] towards the Justice Ministry building, which has become a symbol of repression, torture and lies,” Leopoldo Lopez said on the video.
He called on his supporters to dress in white, “to reaffirm our commitment to peace”.
“I will be there to show my face. I have nothing to fear. I have not committed any crime. If there is any order to illegally arrest me, well, I will be there,” added Leopoldo Lopez.
For his part, President Nicolas Maduro called on oil workers from the state company PDVSA to march to the presidential palace on Tuesday.
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