Mon Jan 13 19:57:09 UTC 2025: ## Venezuela Seeks Interpol’s Help to Arrest Opposition Leader in Exile

**CARACAS, Venezuela** – Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek Saab announced Monday that he has requested an Interpol Red Notice for the arrest of Leopoldo López, a prominent opposition figure currently living in exile in Spain. The request follows López’s public endorsement of former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe’s call for international intervention to remove President Nicolás Maduro from power.

López, a former mayor and leader of the Voluntad Popular party, fled Venezuela in 2020 after serving time in prison and under house arrest. His support for Uribe’s comments, which included a demand for UN-backed intervention to oust Maduro, prompted the Venezuelan government’s action.

Saab alleges López incited violence against the state, committing treason, conspiracy, and criminal association. These new charges come after a highly contested July presidential election, which Maduro won in a vote widely criticized by the opposition and international observers for lacking transparency. The opposition claims their candidate, Edmundo González (who is also now in exile), actually won the election.

The Maduro government has faced international condemnation for its human rights record, including allegations of arbitrary detention and torture of political opponents. Following the election, the government reported arresting approximately 2,000 people, with human rights groups claiming 25 deaths. The US has increased its reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest to $25 million and recognizes González as the legitimate winner.

This latest move against López underscores the escalating tensions between the Maduro regime and its opposition, both within Venezuela and abroad. Interpol’s response to Venezuela’s request remains to be seen.

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