Venezuelan government 'trampling rule of law,' archbishop charges

February 20, 2015

A Venezuelan archbishop has said that the arrest of a leading political figure is evidence of dictatorial control, and the destruction of democratic rule in Venezuela.

Archbishop Roberto Lückert spoke out after Mayor Antonio Ledezma was taken into custody by police. President Nicolas Maduro claimed that Ledezma had been involved in an attempted coup.

Ledezma had signed a statement calling for the installation of a transition government to address a growing economic crisis in Venezuela. He had been joined in that statement by Leopoldo Lopez, the head of the political opposition—who is now also in prison.

Archbishop Lückert told the Fides news service that the Maduro government, which inherited its power from the late Hugo Chavez—is “trampling every rule of law.”

 

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Further information:

• Police arrest Mayor of Caracas, for Archbishop Lückert “proof of dictatorship" (Fides)