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| Caribbean-Latin America |
| Caracas Mayor's Arrest Over 'Coup Plot' Denounced |
| 2015-02-20 |
| [VOA News] Critics of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro are decrying the unexpected arrest Thursday of Caracas Mayor Antonio Ledezma and calling for a protest demonstration. Venezuelan police placed in durance vile Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! the opposition leader after the government accused him of helping plan what it says was a U.S.-backed coup against the socialist government. Ledezma is expected to be brought before a judge Friday, the News Agency that Dare Not be Named reported, a day after he was seized. Heavily armed security forces, outfitted in masks and camouflaged uniforms, broke down the doors of his office in the banking district and firing warning shots into the air. "I just saw how they took Ledezma out of his office as if he were a dog," opposition politician Ismael Garcia tweeted, Rooters news agency reported. "They broke down the doors without an arrest warrant." Maduro has accused the 59-year-old mayor of being behind a coup, which he says also involved military aviation officers. "On the orders of state prosecutors, [Ledezma] was captured and will be processed by the Venezuelan justice system for crimes committed against the peace of the country," Maduro said. |
| Posted by:Fred |