Venezuela denies former presidents access to political prisoner

The former presidents of Chile and Colombia have been denied their request to visit opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez in jail by the Venezuelan government. SEE ALSO: Jailed leader Leopoldo Lopez wants foreign intervention in Venezuela Chile’s Sebastian Pinera and Colombia’s Andres Pastrana say they are visiting Venezuela to support the opposition. They have called for the release of Lopez, who was arrested nearly a year ago and is being held in a military jail in the outskirts of Caracas. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was suspicious when he heard of Pinera and Pastrana’s request. He accused the former leaders of taking part in a plot against him and denied them access to Lopez. Pastrana criticized the decision, saying “a president does not need official authorization to visit a political prisoner.” Pinera and Pastrana had travelled to Venezuela to attend a forum on democracy organized by the opposition. Lopez turned himself in during an opposition in March, about 11 months ago, after having an arrest warrant issued against him. More than 40 people from both sides of the political divide were killed in protests, which took place in Venezuela between February and May. The government said opposition leaders, including Lopez, had incited protesters to violence. The opposition accuses the socialist government of Maduro and his predecessor, the late Hugo Chavez, of mismanaging the economy. SEE ALSO: Venezuela’s credit rating downgraded On Saturday, thousands of opposition supporters took to the streets of Caracas for the first time in months to complain about the worsening economic crisis. Many banged empty pots, in reference to the shortage of many staple foods. Maduro says businessmen linked to the opposition are waging “an economic war” against the Venezuelan people and the government. He accused four supermarket chains of hoarding goods and smuggling items out of the country and promised to produce the evidence in the next few days. Venezuela – a major oil producer – has been heavily affected by the sharp fall in oil prices on international markets.The post Venezuela denies former presidents access to political prisoner appeared first on Voxxi.