VENEZUELA-USA-OPPOSITION/LOPEZ-LETTER Jailed opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez sends supporters message as U.S.-Venezuela rapprochement rocked by his sentence

Record ID: 140046

  • Title: VENEZUELA-USA-OPPOSITION/LOPEZ-LETTER Jailed opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez sends supporters message as U.S.-Venezuela rapprochement rocked by his sentence
  • Date: 11th September 2015
  • Summary: CARACAS, VENEZUELA (FILE) (REUTERS) ****WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** VARIOUS OF LOPEZ DURING POLITICAL CAMPAIGN
  • Embargoed: 26th September 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA3P5XHTXLM9XLNOXMOYGC27F1Q
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: One day after being sentenced to almost 14 years in prison, Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez sent supporters a letter on Friday (September 11) and the U.S. marked its disapproval, rocking rapprochement efforts between the two countries.
    Late Thursday, Lopez was convicted of inciting 2014 anti-government protests that led to violence killing 43 people. He was found guilty of provoking arson, violence and damage to public property and condemned to 13 years and nine months in prison.
    Standing among Lopez supporters, his wife Lilian Tintori read a hand-written letter from her husband defying the Socialist government of President Nicolas Maduro.
    "From my heart, I tell you that no one could be more indignant during this time, no one more tempted to become demoralised and frustrated than I am, but I confess to you that I'm stronger and calmer than ever and I've decided to lift myself up time and time again until peacefully and democratically achieving the changes that our country so needs," she said.
    Tintori called for a protest march on September 19.
    "Justice, truth and reason know that Leopoldo Lopez is innocent," she added.
    The sentence-- which was called "harsh" by a U.N. human rights spokesman who criticized the trial for "irregularities"-- is a snub to Washington and Spain, which have both called for his release.
    During the mainly closed-door trial, Judge Susana Barreiros rejected 58 of the 60 defense witnesses, though she allowed the prosecution 108 witnesses, according to Lopez's lawyers, who are appealing.
    U.S. officials have repeatedly raised the case of Lopez and a handful of other jailed activists who oppose President Nicolas Maduro's socialist government and Spanish senators from across the political spectrum, and former socialist Felipe Gonzalez, flew to Caracas to meet with Lopez earlier this year.
    On Friday (September 11), U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Washington was "deeply troubled" as he called the charges "illegitimate" and urged the release of all jailed government opponents.
    His comments were echoed by U.S. State Department spokesperson John Kirby.
    "We continue to call for the release of those imprisoned for their political beliefs and we will continue to underscore our commitment to human rights and fundamental freedoms as you know that's not going to stop and we're pretty open and honest and candid about that. Having diplomatic relations allows you to do that in perhaps a more forthright, direct manner so obviously we don't agree with this sentence and we've stated so. The Secretary himself stated so today. And we're going to continue to make this call. That said, this is a relationship that we're sort of at the beginning of trying to improve and I think you're going to see those efforts persist as well," he told journalists.
    Washington and Caracas have recently begun holding diplomatic talks aimed at improving ties between the two countries.
    At a media briefing, Kirby said the United States will continue the talks despite its concerns about the recent Lopez sentencing.
    "Just because you disagree on some things doesn't mean that there aren't areas where you can work together on them: narco trafficking and transnational crime and then there's lots of issues we share with Venezuela going forward and we want to focus on those issues as much as possible. But, at the same time, we're not going to shy away if we have issues and concerns. I mean, we have an obligation to speak up and we'll continue do to so. Again, this is a relationship that matters and one that we want to improve and we're going to keep working on it," he said.
    But Venezuela accused the U.S. of jeopardizing a nascent rapprochement between the two ideological foes with "insolent" criticism of the 14-year jail sentence.
    "With its insolent meddling, the United States has kicked the timid steps achieved towards regularizing bilateral relations," Venezuela's foreign minister, Delcy Rodriguez, said via Twitter, accusing Kerry of "aggressions" and "offences."
    After more than a decade of acrimonious ties and without respective ambassadors, Washington and Caracas this year began a cautious rapprochement by trying to cooperate on issues from Colombian peace talks to Haitian democracy.
    With inflation raging, shortages from antibiotics to meat, and a biting recession, support for Maduro has fallen.
    Opposition politicians are seeking to channel such anger into votes in the December 6 election, which polls forecast they stand a strong chance of winning.
    Kirby said the U.S. is concerned about the exclusion of opposition candidates from the election.
    "The mere act of preventing the inclusion of opposition candidates weakens the electoral process and it undermines the principles of pluralism and participatory democracy. Obviously, if you're not allowing opposition parties or members to voice their concerns and be participants in the process, it's going to affect or potentially affect elections," Kirby added.
    Maduro says Lopez is a dangerous criminal and pawn of the elite, intent on subverting the government under the guise of peaceful protests. He points to Lopez's attempts to unseat the late Hugo Chavez during a failed coup in 2002.
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