CARACAS — Venezuelan opposition leaders on Friday demanded the release of a Caracas mayor arrested after what they called false accusations that he was involved in a U.S.-backed coup plot against President Nicolas Maduro.
Intelligence agents took Caracas metropolitan Mayor Antonio Ledezma from his office on Thursday and were holding the veteran politician at their Helicoide headquarters while a judge decides if he will be formally charged, supporters said.
“He’s in good spirits and very optimistic of demonstrating that he has no links with any wrongdoing,” his lawyer, Omar Estacio, said after a brief visit to Ledezma with his wife Mitzy early on Friday.
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“Deeply concerned by what appears to be escalation of intimidation of opponents by government of Venezuela,” Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Roberta Jacobson said via Twitter on Friday.
“The only way to solve problems of Venezuela is through real dialogue among Venezuelans – not attempting to silence critics.”
(Additional reporting by Eyanir Chinea; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
