Ledezma Tried to Assassinate Leopoldo Lopez: President Maduro

On Thursday, the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro revealed that Antonio Ledezma, a fugitive from justice, tried to assassinate the opposition politician Leopoldo Lopez in 2014.

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This information arose during a conversation held in the fourth episode of “Maduro Podcast” in which legislator Diosdado Cabello, who is also the vice president of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), recalled the events.

"Reliable information arrived. It was a recording of an opposition politician saying that he knew where Leopoldo Lopez was hiding and that he had to be murdered to create a spark that would light the prairie. It was the voice of Antonio Ledezma," Maduro said.

On that occasion, he asked Diosdado Cabello to show the recording to Lopez's relatives so that they could ask him to surrender to justice because it was "the only way to save his life."

During Thursday's broadcast, Cabello revealed that he saved the life of Lopez, whom his own colleagues wanted to assassinate to cause an event that would shock the Venezuelan people.

“Lopez knew that they wanted to kill him to light the spark that would trigger the overthrow of President Maduro,” said Cabello, who acted as an intermediary to prevent those destabilizing intentions from being carried out. The PSUV vice president also revealed that Lopez and his family knew about Antonio Ledezma's intentions.

“Leopoldo's wife told him that she and her children would leave the country if he went to the East Park, where they wanted to kill him,” Cabello said and recalled that Lopez's surrender to justice was agreed upon with his wife.

“Lopez's wife contacted him and agreed to hand him over... I risked my life because I passed through the middle of an opposition demonstration to get to their house. Once there, they didn't even comply with what was agreed because they decided to continue doing the show,” Cabello said.

Later, Lopez was transferred to the Ramo Verde military prison, from which he escaped in order to "continue his violent actions against national peace," the PSVU leader commented.