Venezuela: Spain accomplice in illegal escape of opposition figure Lopez

Venezuelan opposition figure Leopoldo Lopez has fled to Madrid after spending 18 months in the Spanish ambassador’s residence in the Latin American country. The move has outraged Venezuela, with the government in Caracas accusing the Spanish envoy of being an accomplice in "the unlawful escape of a dangerous criminal."

Lopez, arrived in the Spanish capital on Sunday after first crossing into Colombia, Spain’s Foreign Ministry confirmed.

He fled to the embassy in April last year, after being involved in an abortive incursion to kidnap President Nicolas Maduro. He was also considered to be the mentor of opposition figure Juan Guaido.

Caracas, which has formerly slammed Spain’s move in harboring “criminals,” accused Madrid of “incessant" interference in Venezuelan affairs over Lopez’s exit.

Venezuela slams Spain for harboring ‘criminal’ opposition figure

Venezuela voices strong protestation to Spain for harboring an opposition figure involved in planning a recent incursion to kidnap President Nicolas Maduro.

"The head of the Spanish diplomatic mission in Venezuela served as the main organizer and confessed accomplice of the... escape from Venezuelan territory of the criminal Leopoldo Lopez," the government said in a statement.

It said Spain’s behavior was “hostile, outrageous and unacceptable” and that it violated the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations.

“The Kingdom of Spain actively participates in the illegal escape of a dangerous criminal and decides to receive him in its territory without regard to international laws and even Spanish immigration laws and bilateral agreements on justice,” the statement added.

Caracas had expelled Spanish ambassador Jesus Silva in January 2018 over allegations of interference in the country's affair, but his return was agreed in April the same year.

Now, it says that Silva has failed to live up to his commitment to respect "Venezuelan and international laws," by “facilitating” the escape of “the terrorist Leopoldo Lopez.”

The outgoing ambassador is also accused of knowing that Lopez had been planning “Operation Gideon” – an unsuccessful plot the government said was aimed at killing Maduro and destabilizing the country in May, this year.

Venezuelan authorities detained four employees of the ambassador’s residence after Lopez's departure.

Spain’s Foreign Ministry earlier announced the Venezuelan opposition figure's arrival in Madrid, saying his decision to leave Venezuela had been “personal and voluntary.”

Lopez himself took to Twitter late Saturday, saying “Venezuelans, this decision has not been a simple one.”

“We will not rest and we will continue working day and night to achieve the freedom that all Venezuelans deserve,” he added.

Lopez, 49, the former mayor of an important district of Caracas, Chacao, was arrested in 2014 and accused of inciting violence when mass opposition protests began in the country.

He had been imprisoned for several years before being released to house arrest.

Back in April 2019, when Guaido tried to topple the Maduro government by a small group of the military, Lopez appeared on the streets alongside him.

US-backed opposition parties pledge to boycott Venezuela’s December election

The parties boycotted Maduro’s 2018 re-election on similar grounds and now label him a ‘usurper.’

Maduro said back then that Guaido and Lopez were seeking to spark an armed confrontation that might be used as a pretext for foreign military intervention, but that “loyal and obedient” members of the country’s armed forces had put down the mutiny within hours.

After the coup attempt was thwarted, Lopez took refuge in the embassy.

In the United States, an official reacted to Lopez's escape, describing it as “a gutsy thing to try…because if they had caught him he would have gone back to prison, or worse.”

“We are happy to see that he has reunited with his family,” said the official.

Venezuela’s Maduro calls US ‘most serious threat’ to global peace

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has called on the international community to rally against unilateral US sanctions against various countries and characterized Washington as the “most serious threat” to global peace and stability.

Washington has over the past years stepped up its anti-Maduro push by lending support to Guaido in his bid to topple the elected government in Caracas.

It has imposed harsh economic sanctions on the oil-rich country and confiscated its state oil assets based in the US, channeling them to Guaido.

Maduro, who has repeatedly accused Washington of openly pushing for a coup in the country, blames Washington for an economic war that has over the past years  led to hyperinflation and widespread shortages of food and medicine in Venezuela.

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