The re-arrest of two of Venezuela’s most prominent opposition leaders in midnight operations has prompted further condemnation of President Nicolás Maduro’s government – which was already accused of attempting to seize absolute power in the crisis-hit country.



Security officials led the raids early on Tuesday after the supreme court ruled that Leopoldo López and Antonio Ledezma violated the terms of their house arrests by calling on Venezuelans to protest against the weekend vote to elect a new body to rewrite the constitution.

The vote for the constituent assembly was boycotted by the opposition, and has been denounced around the world as an attack on democracy.

López was sentenced to 14 years for his role in leading street protests against Maduro in 2014. Ledezma is accused of plotting a coup. Human rights defenders have said in both cases the charges have been trumped up.

According to a statement from the pro-government supreme court the two also had plans to flee.

UN human rights cheif Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein said he was “deeply concerned” that the two men were taken into custody. “I urge the authorities not to make an already extremely volatile situation even worse through the use of excessive force, including through violent house raids by security forces that have occurred in various parts of the country.”

The US state department said the detentions were further evidence that Maduro “is not willing to respect fundamental human rights.”

José Miguel Vivanco, America’s director at Human Rights Watch, said the re-arrests “expose the true nature of the dictatorship (Maduro) is imposing on Venezuelans.

“Maduro may lock up two prominent political prisoners, but he cannot silence the millions of Venezuelans who oppose his government, nor key democratic leaders abroad who know that these detentions are desperate moves to cling to power at the expense of Venezuela’s democracy and the rights of its people.”

Lopez’s wife Lilian Tintori posted a video of the moment of the arrest of her husband on Twitter. “12:27 in the morning: the moment when the dictatorship kidnaps Leopoldo at my house.”

López was granted house arrest early last month after spending three years in the Ramo Verde prison. Ledezma has been under house arrest since 2015. His daughter, Vanessa, posted a video of her father, wearing pyjamas, being taken away by officials of the Sebin intelligence service.

Other opponents of the government have been targeted by security forces, and several human rights activists have gone into hiding since Friday following repeated raids on their homes, one source told the Guardian. Several are considering leaving the country, said the source, who requested anonymity.

Since 1 April, when widespread protests began against the government, more than 121 people have been killed. According to the prosecutor’s office, 16 died on Sunday, when the vote was held for the new constituent assembly, which would have the power to dissolve the legislature and other state institutions as well as rewrite the constitution.

More than 5,000 people have been detained by security forces in the past four months, and 1,389 remain in custody, according to Foro Penal, a human rights group. By the organization’s count there are 498 political prisoners in the country.

Boris Johnson, the British foreign secretary, accused Maduro of “acting like a dictator of an evil regime” and called for for the release of political prisoners.

The opposition-controlled parliament convened on Tuesday for the first time since Sunday’s vote.



“Our message is that the constituent assembly should be cancelled,” Julio Borges, head of the parliament, said.

However, state media have said the assembly will meet on Thursday in a chamber of the Capitol – a legislative building adjacent to the parliament. It remains unclear who will participate, as the national electoral council has not yet released the names of the body’s newly-elected members.

The ambassadors of the UK, France, Spain and Mexico – countries that said they would not recognize the new super-body – attended the parliamentary session in support of the lawmakers elected in December 2015 elections, where members of the opposition coalition, known as MUD won a majority of seats.

“I am here to support democracy in Venezuela and to help to find a solution and a peaceful way out of the crisis,” the UK’s ambassador, John Saville, said.

Maduro called the controversial constituent assembly earlier this year, arguing that the move would create peace and foster dialogue in a deeply polarized country that is suffering a severe economic crisis. The opposition blames government mismanagement, while the government lays the blame on what it calls an “economic war” against Venezuela.

On Monday, the US imposed individual economic sanctions on Maduro on Monday, calling him a “dictator who disregards the will of the Venezuelan people”.

It had previously frozen the assets of 13 senior government officials and managers at the state oil company.

But the measures are largely symbolic, and the US has so far held back from imposing broader sanctions on Venezuela’s oil industry – which could have a devastating impact on the country’s economy.

Maduro brushed off the move, saying: “The threats and sanctions of the empire don’t intimidate me for a moment. I don’t listen to orders from the empire, not now or ever. Bring on more sanctions, Donald Trump.” </s> Venezuela Opposition leaders Leopoldo Lopez and Antonio Ledezma were taken from their homes by intelligence agents in the early hours of Tuesday morning, their family members alleged, reported CNN. The Opposition condemned the detentions and termed them as “kidnappings”. They also said the whereabouts of the two men were currently unknown.

The two were under house arrest before they were taken away. “We do not know where he is or where he is being taken,” Lopez’s wife Lilian Tintori tweeted on early Tuesday morning. “[President Nicolas] Maduro is responsible if something happens to him.”

She also included a video of what appears to be her husband being led into a vehicle by alleged members of Venezuela’s intelligence agency.

“12:27 in the morning: the moment when the dictatorship kidnaps Leopoldo at my house,” she said in another tweet.

Ledezma’s daughter, Oriette, blamed the current regime in a video statement. “We do not know where he was taken,” Oriette said. “A group of men came with their faces concealed and in camouflage and they took him. They have kidnapped him once again. We hold the regime responsible for his life and physical integrity.”

The United States on Monday had imposed sanctions on the Venezuelan government, a day after President Nicolas Maduro won a controversial election giving his government more power. The sanctions banned any US citizens from doing business with Maduro, and froze Maduro’s assets in their country.

Maduro and his aides claimed 40% of Venezuelans voted in the polls, while Opposition activists said the real figure was only around 12%. </s> Two of Venezuela's leading opposition figures were taken away from their homes by the country's intelligence service early Tuesday morning, according to their families.

Family members posted videos of opposition leaders Leopoldo Lopez and Antonio Ledezma being detained and claimed that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro should be held responsible for whatever happened to them.

"12:27 am: The time when the dictatorship kidnaps Leopoldo at my house," Lopez's wife, Lilian Tintori, tweeted in Spanish.

"They just took Leopoldo from the house. We do not know where he is or where he is being taken. Maduro is responsible if something happens to him," she wrote in a separate tweet.

Tintori also shared a video that appeared to show Lopez being pushed into a vehicle marked "SEBIN," an abbreviation for Venezuela's intelligence agency.

Ledezma’s daughter, Vanessa Ledezma, shared similar footage on Tuesday morning, writing in Spanish: “I hold Nicolas Maduro responsible for my father's life ... the sebin just dragged him away, we don't know where he is. Let the whole world know!”

The detentions come amid heightened tensions following months of protests that have resulted in more than 100 deaths, according to the Associated Press. On Sunday, the government held a highly controversial vote that resulted in the creation of a new legislative body that Maduro has called for to redraft the country's constitution.

Lopez and Antonio Ledezma had recently called for the public to boycott Sunday's election and the U.S. condemned it.

The U.S. authorized new economic sanctions against Maduro on Monday in retaliation for what it referred to as "illegitimate elections" that it said undermined Venezuelan democracy.

“Yesterday’s illegitimate elections confirm that Maduro is a dictator who disregards the will of the Venezuelan people,” Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin wrote in a statement Monday. "By sanctioning Maduro, the United States makes clear our opposition to the policies of his regime and our support for the people of Venezuela who seek to return their country to a full and prosperous democracy."

Lopez was granted house arrest last month after serving three years in prison in connection with charges that he incited violence during anti-government protests in 2014.

Ledezma has been under house arrest since 2015 after being imprisoned on charges that he was plotting a coup against Maduro. </s> Allies of two Venezuelan opposition leaders say Leopoldo Lopez and Antonio Ledezma have been taken by authorities from the homes where they were under house arrest.

Video posted on the Twitter account of Lopez's wife early Tuesday shows a man being taken away from a Caracas home by state security agents. Wife Lilian Tintori says in a tweet that "they've just taken Leopoldo from the house. We don't know where he is."

Lopez was detained three years after protests against President Nicolas Maduro's government and sentenced to more than a decade in prison on charges that include inciting protesters to violence. He was released last month to serve the rest of his term under house arrest. Ledezma, a former Caracas mayor, was also detained in 2015 and has been under house arrest.

The Times will update this article.

Venezuela's Maduro threatens to jail opposition leaders, is sanctioned by U.S. » </s> US State Department head Mike Pompeo has suffered a public meltdown, reacting forcefully that the constitutional government of Venezuela actually arrested a key member of the upper house of parliament (AN) -Pompeo reached out to world media, announcing that the Venezuelan courts moves were an "Unacceptable and illegal step."Mike Pompeo denounced the detention by Venezuelan authorities of the now-former Vice-Speaker of the National Assembly, Edgar Zambrano. In a statement released last night, Pompeo describes as an "arbitrary" and "unacceptable and illegal act" the arrest of the politician, first vice president of the National Assembly of Venezuela, which took place this Wednesday night in Caracas, at the hands of SEBIN agents.Despite Pompeo's public tantrum, widely viewed as hypocritical,According to witnesses, bodies of the Bolivarian Intelligence Service (SEBIN) arrived at the main headquarters of the Acción Democrática party, to which Zambrano belongs. The deputy was in his vehicle, who refused to step outside. It was then that SEBIN officials pulled the deputy's car with a crane, and in a raucous scene, he was arrested by SEBIN while in his car, taken by tow-truck. It should be noted that Diosdado Cabello confirmed the arrest of Zambrano on the same Wednesday night.- the legislative body in Venezuela comparable to the house of commons or the house of representatives - authorized legislation which the executive branch and courts approved, whichwhich were previously enjoyed by members of both houses.FRN reported yesterdayThe head of the National Assembly, the leader of the opposition, Juan Guaido , announced his arrest.Earlier, Guaido acknowledged the failure of the coup attempt, which he says occurred due to the refusal of the military to go over to the side of the self-proclaimed president.Likewise, the(AN), an instance that has been in contempt since 2016, for their participation in the coup attempt. Among them, the first vice president of the AN, Edgar Zambrano.The other seven opposition deputies, whose parliamentary immunity was raided are: Herry Ramos, Luis Florido, Richard Blanco, Marianela Magallanes, Américo De Grazia, Andres Velazques and José Calzadilla. </s> • Venezuelan intelligence agents arrested the vice president of the opposition-led national assembly on Wednesday.
• Authorities attempted to detain Edgar Zambrano as he drove out of the opposition party headquarters, but he refused to leave his car.
• His car was then towed directly into a Caracas prison with him still inside.
• The detention is part of a larger crackdown on opposition leaders who participated in last week’s failed military uprising.

Venezuelan authorities arrested the vice president of the opposition-led national assembly on Wednesday – the first detention of a major opposition figure since last week’s failed military uprising against President Nicolás Maduro.

Edgar Zambrano was leaving his party’s headquarters in Caracas when agents from the SEBIN intelligence agency stopped his car, the politician tweeted. After he refused to leave his vehicle, security forces towed him to the infamous Helicoide prison.

“We democrats will keep fighting,” he said on Twitter.

Zambrano was among the high profile leaders who joined an attempted revolt against the socialist government last Tuesday, The Associated Press reported. He went to the Caracas bridge where opposition leader Juan Guaidó was calling for military defections, and thanked the small group of rebel soldiers who had changed allegiances.

The protest failed to spark any large scale defections.

Read more: Protestors clash with the regime as the opposition struggles to oust Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro

Maduro ally Diosdado Cabello confirmed on state television that Zambrano was arrested because of his involvement in the uprising.

“He was one of the principal bosses behind the coup,” Cabello said to loud applause. “The tow truck got him.”

Guaidó accused Maduro’s government of “kidnapping” his deputy, and undermining the people who voted opposition lawmakers into the national assembly. Guaidó and his supporters believe elections for other government bodies were rigged.

“With these actions, the usurpers want to affect the only democratic institution legitimized by the popular vote,” Guaidó tweeted.

The US State Department said Zambrano’s detention was “illegal and inexcusable.”

“If he is not freed immediately, there will be consequences,” the American embassy in Venezuela tweeted.

Wednesday’s arrest is part of a larger crackdown in response to the unsuccessful revolt.

The Constituent Assembly, stacked with Maduro loyalists, had already revoked parliamentary immunity from Zambrano and six other lawmakers so they could be prosecuted, The Guardian reported. The opposition does not recognize the decision.

The Maduro government also said it was investigating Zambrano and eight other opposition leaders for “betraying the homeland” and “instigating insurrection,” according to the AP.

Guaidó believes he hasn’t been arrested yet because Maduro fears retaliation.

“Because they’re scared. Those that try to spread or generate a perception of control are the ones that don’t have it,” Guaidó told CNN.

The US, Guaidó’s most important international backer, has already threatened military intervention in Venezuela if other avenues for Maduro’s removal do not succeed. </s> Two Venezuelan opposition leaders have been arrested and dragged away from their homes after controversial elections marred by bloodshed.

Antonio Ledezma and Leopoldo Lopez, high profile critics of President Nicolas Maduro, were hauled out of their houses by intelligence services, relatives say.

The arrests came a day after a vote to choose a much-condemned assembly that supersedes parliament.

Lopez and Ledezma were both already under house arrest when they were picked up by the intelligence service.

The two men are Venezuela's most high profile opposition leaders. Both had called for a boycott of Sunday's vote for a so-called and all-powerful constituent assembly tasked with rewriting the constitution.

Both of their families said they held President Nicolas Maduro, the driving force behind the vote, responsible for the leaders' lives.

'They just took Leopoldo away. We do not know where he is or where they are taking him,' Lopez's wife Lilian Tintori said on Twitter.

The children of Ledezma - named Victor, Vanessa and Antonietta - also said on Twitter that the Sebin had taken away their father.

Opposition leaders and local media posted cell phone footage of Ledezma being taken away from his home forcibly.

Opposition lawmaker Freddy Guevara said the arrests were aimed at 'frightening us and demoralising us.'

Last night,Maduro brushed off new U.S. sanctions on him and condemnation at home and abroad of the newly chosen constitutional assembly, saying the vote has given him a popular mandate to radically overhaul Venezuela's political system.

Maduro said Monday evening he had no intention of deviating from his plans to rewrite the constitution and go after a string of enemies, from independent Venezuelan news channels to gunmen he claimed were sent by neighbouring Colombia to disrupt the vote as part of an international conspiracy led by the man he calls 'Emperor Donald Trump.'

'They don't intimidate me. The threats and sanctions of the empire don't intimidate me for a moment,' Maduro said on national television. 'I don't listen to orders from the empire, not now or ever ... Bring on more sanctions, Donald Trump.'

A few hours earlier, Washington added Maduro to a steadily growing list of high-ranking Venezuelan officials targeted by financial sanctions, escalating a tactic that has so far failed to alter his socialist government's behavior.

For now, the Trump administration did not deliver on threats to sanction Venezuela's oil industry, which could undermine Maduro's government but raise U.S. gas prices and deepen the humanitarian crisis here.

The sanctions came after electoral authorities said more than 8 million people voted Sunday to create a constitutional assembly endowing Maduro's ruling party with virtually unlimited powers - a turnout doubted by independent analysts while the election was labeled illegitimate by leaders across the Americans and Europe.

Venezuela's National Electoral Council said turnout in Sunday's vote was 41.53 percent, or 8,089,320 people. The result would mean the ruling party won more support than it had in any national election since 2013, despite a cratering economy, spiraling inflation, shortages of medicine and malnutrition.

Opinion polls had said some 85 per cent of Venezuelans disapproved of the constitutional assembly and similar numbers disapproved of Maduro's overall performance.

Opposition leaders estimated the real turnout at less than half the government's claim in a vote watched by government-allied observers but no internationally recognised poll monitors.

An exit poll based on surveys from 110 voting centers by New York investment bank Torino Capital and a Venezuela public opinion company estimated 3.6 million people voted, or about 18.5 per cent of registered voters.

The electoral council's vote counts in the past had been seen as reliable and generally accurate, but the widely mocked announcement appeared certain to escalate the polarization and political conflict paralyzing the country.

'If it wasn't a tragedy ... if it didn't mean more crisis, the electoral council's number would almost make you laugh,' opposition leader Freddy Guevara said on Twitter. Maduro has threatened that one of the constitutional assembly's first acts would be jailing Guevara for inciting violence.

The constituent assembly will have the task of rewriting the country's constitution and will have powers above and beyond other state institutions, including the opposition-controlled congress.

Maduro has said the new assembly will begin to govern within a week. Among other measures, he said he would use the assembly's powers to bar opposition candidates from running in gubernatorial elections in December unless they sit with his party to negotiate an end to hostilities that have generated four months of protests that have killed at least 120 and wounded nearly 2,000.

Along with the U.S., the European Union and nations including Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Spain and Britain criticized Sunday's vote. Maduro said he had received congratulations from the governments of Cuba, Bolivia and Nicaragua, among others.

The monetary impact of the new U.S. sanctions wasn't immediately clear as Maduro's holdings in U.S. jurisdictions, if he has any, weren't publicized.

However, imposing sanctions on a head of state is rare and can be symbolically powerful, leading other countries to similarly shun such a leader.

For example, the U.S. has had sanctions against Syria's President Bashar Assad since 2011. Other heads of state currently subject to U.S. sanctions include Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe and North Korea's Kim Jong Un.

Maduro called the constitutional assembly in May after a month of protests against his government, which has overseen Venezuela's descent into a devastating crisis during its four years in power.

Due to plunging oil prices and widespread corruption and mismanagement, Venezuela's inflation and homicide rates are among the world's highest, and widespread shortages of food and medicine have citizens dying of preventable illnesses and rooting through trash to feed themselves.

The president of the opposition-led National Assembly, Julio Borges, told Venezuelan news channel Globovision on Monday that Maduro's foes would continue protesting until they won free elections and a change of government.

He said Sunday's vote gave Maduro 'less legitimacy, less credibility, less popular support and less ability to govern.' </s> Image copyright EPA Image caption Mr Zambrano's car was towed by Sebin agents with him inside

The deputy of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó has been detained by the country's intelligence services.

Edgar Zambrano, vice-president of the National Assembly, refused to leave his car when approached, and as a result he and his car were towed to prison.

It is the first arrest of a senior opposition figure since attempts to spark a military rebellion against President Nicolás Maduro last week.

Mr Guaidó is recognised as "interim president" by more than 50 nations.

What happened?

Democratic Action party leader Carlos Prosperi told reporters that he had been at a party meeting with Mr Zambrano in the capital Caracas moments before the latter was arrested by agents from Venezuela's Bolivarian Intelligence Service (Sebin).

"The vehicle was surrounded," he said. "They [Sebin agents] wouldn't allow us to get to him. They brought a tow truck and his vehicle was towed away."

Venezuelan online television channel VPI posted footage of the moment Mr Zambrano was towed on Twitter.

Mr Prosperi said that he believes Mr Zambrano was taken to El Helicoide, a notorious prison in the centre of the city.

"We don't know anything about what physical condition he's in and we don't know what is happening at El Helicoide at the moment," he said.

What's the background?

The arrest comes a day after Venezuela's Supreme Court ordered that Mr Zambrano and six other National Assembly deputies be charged with treason for their alleged participation in the failed military uprising.

Read more about Venezuela's crisis:

The court asked the National Constituent Assembly (ANC), a body convened by President Maduro and made up exclusively of his supporters, to lift the parliamentary immunity of the lawmakers, which the ANC promptly did.

Since then, three more opposition lawmakers have been charged and their immunity is expected to be lifted within days.

They are: Freddy Superlano of the Democratic Action party, Sergio Vergara and Juan Andrés Mejía, who both represent the Popular Will party.

What reaction has there been?

Mr Guaidó called Mr Zambrano's arrest - in particular the towing of his car - "absurd" in a tweet he posted shortly after the incident.

There was also swift reaction from the officials from the US, a country which has been one of the strongest supporters of Mr Guaidó.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Venezuela crisis: The four countries interested in the presidential battle

On the Twitter account of its "virtual" embassy in Caracas - the embassy closed in March amid growing tensions - the US called the detention "illegal and inexcusable" and warned that if he was not released immediately, there would be consequences. However, the tweet did not spell out what those consequences would be.

The EU said Mr Zambrano's arrest was "another fragrant violation" of Venezuela's constitution and described it as "a politically motivated action aimed at silencing the National Assembly".

Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Peru have also called for Mr Zambrano's release.

Meanwhile, the head of the National Constituent Assembly, Diosdado Cabello, boasted about the arrest on his TV show.

To the applause and loud cheers of government supporters, he mocked the lawmaker, saying that he would have to pay for the towing of his vehicle.

Earlier Mr Cabello called Mr Zambrano "one of the principal conspirators of the coup" and said that he and his "co-conspirators" would have to "pay before the courts for the failed coup that they have attempted".

How did it come to this?

Mr Guaidó declared himself Venezuela's acting leader in January. As the head of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, he invoked the constitution to assume as the position of interim president, arguing that Mr Maduro's re-election last year was illegitimate.

Since then, tension between those who support Mr Guaidó and those who back Mr Maduro has increased. The military is seen as holding the key to the balance of power.

On 30 April, in a video recorded near an air force base in Caracas, Mr Guaidó called on the military to help him oust President Maduro.

Mr Zambrano was one of the lawmakers seen in later footage talking to Mr Guaidó on a flyover near the air force base. Mr Cabello said that was "enough to prove his involvement".

While a small group of uniformed men joined Mr Guaidó, the top brass of the military quickly declared its loyalty to President Maduro and the status quo was maintained.

Mr Guaidó has since told the BBC he would consider asking the US to stage a military intervention.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Self-declared interim president Juan Guaidó failed in a third attempt to oust Nicolás Maduro. What now? </s> Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó's deputy has been detained by the country's intelligence services.

Edgar Zambrano, vice president of the National Assembly, refused to leave his car when approached, and as a result he and his car were towed to prison.

It is the first arrest of an opposition figure since attempts to spark a military rebellion against President Nicolás Maduro last week.

Mr Guaidó is recognised as "interim president" by more than 50 nations.

Democratic Action party leader Carlos Prosperi told reporters that he had been at a party meeting with Mr Zambrano in the capital Caracas moments before he was arrested by agents from Venezuela's Bolivarian Intelligence Service (Sebin).

"The vehicle was surrounded," he said. "They [Sebin agents] wouldn't allow us to get to him. They brought a tow truck and his vehicle was towed away."

He added that they believe he was taken to El Helicoide, a notorious prison in the centre of the city.

"We don't know anything about what physical condition he's in and we don't know what is happening at El Helicoide at the moment," Mr Prosperi said.

Mr Guaidó also tweeted about the arrest, calling Mr Zambrano's arrest - in particular, the towing of his car - "absurd".

The arrest comes one day after Venezuela's Supreme Court ordered that Mr Zambrano and six other National Assembly deputies be charged with treason for their alleged participation in the failed military uprising.

"One of the principal conspirators of the coup has just been arrested," Diosdado Cabello, head of the pro-Maduro Constituent Assembly, told state TV. "They will have to pay before the courts for the failed coup that they have attempted."

What has happened since last week's clashes?

On 1 May, both pro and anti-government supporters held demonstrations in Caracas which were initially peaceful.

But there were soon reports of gunfire in the city, and a local NGO, the Venezuelan Observatory of Social Conflict, said Jurubith Rausseo, 27, had been shot dead during a rally in the opposition stronghold of Altamira.

On Tuesday, Mr Guaidó declared what he called the "final phase" of the operation to topple Mr Maduro. He posted a video of him with a number of men in uniform and said he had the support of "brave soldiers" in Caracas.

He urged Venezuelans to join them on the streets, and appeared alongside another opposition leader, Leopoldo López, who had been under house arrest after being found guilty of inciting violence during protests in 2014.

Four people died in the clashes, including two teenagers, and another 46 people were injured.

Mr Guaidó declared himself Venezuela's interim leader in January. As the head of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, he invoked the constitution to assume an interim presidency, arguing that Mr Maduro's re-election last year was illegitimate.

The opposition leader, who is president of the National Assembly, has the support of more than 50 countries, including the US, UK and most Latin American nations.

On Sunday, he told the BBC that he would consider asking the US to stage a military intervention.

But Mr Maduro - who is backed by Russia, China and the leaders of Venezuela's military - has refused to cede power.
Venezuelan opposition leaders Leopoldo López and Mayor of Caracas Antonio Ledezma are seized at their homes overnight by the Bolivarian Intelligence Service (SEBIN) and taken to Ramo Verde Prison. They had been arrested previously by the Venezuelan government, but were under house arrest at the time of being seized.