Venezuela Mayor Is Accused of U.S.-Backed Coup Plot [View all]

[JonLP24]

Source: NY Times

CARACAS, Venezuela — The mayor of Caracas, Antonio Ledezma, who was arrested last week by intelligence agents, has been indicted on charges of conspiracy against the Venezuelan government and plotting an American-backed coup.

The government said late Friday that charges had been brought against Mr. Ledezma, 59, and that he would be moved from a military intelligence facility to the Ramo Verde military prison just outside the capital, which for a year has housed Leopoldo López, an opposition figure who was charged with inciting major antigovernment unrest.

Mr. Ledezma’s lawyer, Omar Estacio, said Saturday that the maximum sentence for the charges was 25 years in prison.

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President Nicolás Maduro appeared on state television the night after Mr. Ledezma’s arrest on Thursday and railed against the United States, specifically comments from the White House on Friday that the Obama administration was considering “tools” to “better steer the Venezuelan government.”

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/22/world/americas/venezuela-mayor-is-accused-of-us-backed-coup-plot.html

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More on the arrest



A mayor in Venezuela was arrested in dramatic scenes yesterday after dozens of armed police broke into his office and forcibly removed him from the building.

Caracas mayor Antonio Ledezma was physically escorted out of the premises by Sebin officers after being accused of sowing seeds of unrest in the country and allegedly plotting a coup to bring down the government.

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Tensions have been running high in Venezuela with the one-year anniversary of the start of weeks of anti-government street protests that resulted in more than 40 deaths.

Police arrested several other mayors and former mayors during that unrest, including Leopoldo Lopez, who is considered by human rights groups as South America’s most high-profile political prisoner.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/mayor-antonio-ledezma-arrested-and-dragged-out-of-office-like-a-dog-by-police-in-venezuela-10058691.html