Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez calls for soldiers to stand down in face of ongoing protests
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Former Mayor turned anti-government figurehead, Leopoldo Lopez, has called for the army to stand down as anti-government protests continue to break out across the nation’s cities.
Jailed Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez has appealed for military units to refuse to obey orders as violent protests continue to sweep the nation.
The forty six year-old former Mayor of the wealthy district of Chacao, Caracas, is believed to have made the call for purposes of overthrowing the current President, Nicolás Maduro, as the latter struggles with both rising discontent and economic turmoil.
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“You have the right and duty to rebel, to rebel against orders that seek to repress the Venezuelan people,” Lopez is alleged to have stated via Twitter. “Say no, say it is not your duty or even an order that you must comply with.”
He also claimed to have consulted with members of “all hierarchies” of the armed forces, insisting that they “also want change”.
Lopez has been imprisoned since 2015 after being found guilty of involvement in ongoing unrest, having allegedly organised violent protests against the government. He is believed to have been involved in a failed coup attempt back in 2002 against then President Hugo Chavez, having also attempted to run for the Presidency in 2011 but falling short over allegations of corruption.
Last October, opposition leader Henrique Capriles also called up the military to take action against the government, claiming President Maduro was in violation of the constitution and demanding the army “make a decision”.
Military coups are not new in Venezuela, with five separate coup attempts taking place between 1945 and 2002.
Protests have continued to take place across Venezuela as the government struggles to deal with both high levels of inflation and shortages of critical goods. Last month the country’s Chief Prosecutor claimed that some fifty five people have been killed and around a thousand more injured in the latest wave of unrest following the decision of the Supreme Court to assume legislative functions.
Government supporters maintain that the opposition-controlled National Assembly is guilty of intransigence, having refused to endorse a renewed budget in order to weaken the Maduro administration. Detractors claim the move by the Supreme Court constitutes a coup on behalf of the President.
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