Brazil's ex-President Cardoso to defend jailed Venezuelans [View all]
Former Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso will form part of a team defending two jailed opposition leaders in Venezuela.
Cardoso, a former university sociologist who was exiled during Brazil's 1964-1985 military dictatorship, said he accepted an invitation by Spain's former Socialist Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez to advise the legal team defending Leopoldo Lopez and Caracas Mayor Antonio Ledezma.
Both politicians led anti-government protests last year that were blamed for 43 deaths. Lopez is on trial for allegedly inciting violence while Ledezma was removed from office and jailed last month for allegedly conspiring against President Nicolas Maduro's socialist government.
The gesture is largely symbolic as neither Cardoso nor Gonzalez is authorized to practice law in Venezuela. But their support for the opposition leaders is bound to irritate Maduro, who is under increasing pressure from the U.S.
http://news.yahoo.com/brazils-ex-president-cardoso-defend-jailed-venezuelans-181146007.html
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