¡°We will win:¡± Jailed Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo L¨®pez
In highly anticipated video message, politician calls for anti-government protests to continue
The family of imprisoned Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo L¨®pez has posted a video message from the politician on YouTube a month after the besieged government of President Nicol¨¢s Maduro released ¡°proof of life¡± footage in the wake of rumors that he had died.
As with all events related to L¨®pez ¨C the head of Venezuela¡¯s opposition Popular Will (VP) party, and who has been locked up since 2014 in a military jail on the outskirts of Caracas ¨C the release of the new video was highly anticipated.
L¨®pez¡¯s team described the video as a victory in the war on censorship in the strife-torn country that has seen two months of anti-government demonstrations in which hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets and dozens of people have been killed.
We will achieve victory. We will achieve freedom. We will achieve democracy Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo L¨®pez
The message also came as a response to a visit to L¨®pez on Sunday by former Spanish Socialist Prime Minister Jos¨¦ Luis Rodr¨ªguez Zapatero ¨C a mediator in talks between the Venezuela government and opposition groups ¨C as well as by Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Minister Delcy Rodr¨ªguez and her brother Jorge Rodr¨ªguez, the mayor of the Libertador municipality in the west of Caracas.
In the video, a trim and seemingly healthy L¨®pez expressed his admiration for the protesters in Venezuela as they fight for ¡°democracy and the liberty of our people¡± against a ¡°despotic and tyrannical government that is humiliating its citizens.¡±
Calling for Venezuelans to continue with their ¡°legitimate¡± and ¡°peaceful¡± resistance, L¨®pez said: ¡°I am sure we will come out victorious,¡± before adding: ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid of the future. We know that we are on the right side of history. We know that we are heading forward and that we have to fight today so that we can build a better Venezuela tomorrow.¡±
L¨®pez¡¯s team has described the video as a victory in the war on censorship in Venezuela
¡°We will achieve victory. We will achieve freedom. We will achieve democracy,¡± L¨®pez said.
Widespread protests in Venezuela began after talks between the opposition MUD coalition of parties and the government collapsed, and in the wake of attempts by Maduro to shore up his own power by blocking opposition attempts to push for a new election.
A currency in free-fall, looting, and food and medicine shortages have exacerbated the crisis in the South American country.
English version by George Mills.
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