Venezuelan opposition politician Leopoldo LĂłpez is seen outside Generalisimo Francisco de Miranda La Carlota Airbase, in Caracas, on April 30, 2019, leading a failed coup d'etat. Photo: Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters/file photo.
Caracas (OrinocoTribune.com)—The president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, filed an appeal with the Supreme Court to revoke the citizenship of far-right opposition politician Leopoldo López.
Venezuelan Vice President Delcy RodrĂguez reported Saturday, October 25, that the request cites LĂłpez’s illegal calls for a military invasion of Venezuela, his promotion of a permanent economic blockade, and his appeals for the mass murder of the Venezuelan people in complicity with foreign powers. RodrĂguez stated that the legal step has been taken in accordance with Article 130 of the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the Liberator SimĂłn BolĂvar Organic Law.
She explained that both the Foreign Ministry and the Administrative Service of Identification, Migration, and Foreigners (SAIME) will immediately proceed to cancel Leopoldo LĂłpez’s passport in accordance with relevant procedures.
Calling for invasion is cowardice
In response to statements made by LĂłpez to the Spanish EFE news agency, Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino LĂłpez stated on Friday that while an opposition is essential for a balanced society, the far-right faction in Venezuela exists “only to stage coups, to call for invasions, to call for intervention, to demand sanctions against the Venezuelan people. That is simply, as BolĂvar said, an act of cowardice.”
Also on Friday, commanders of the Strategic Regions of Comprehensive Defense (REDI) of the Bolivarian National Armed Force (FANB) categorically repudiated LĂłpez’s call for a US military invasion or the assassination of its constitutional authorities.
Far-right extremist LĂłpez, who is currently a fugitive living a comfortable life in Spain, has expressed his support for the United States’ military deployment in the Caribbean and agrees with a potential US-led invasion of Venezuela.
LĂłpez’s response
LĂłpez, who fled Venezuela in 2020 after his failed coup d’etat on April 30, reacted to President Maduro’s request. On social media, he reiterated his stance from the recent EFE interview, where he openly expressed support for a possible US invasion of Venezuela, using propaganda like “the Cartel of the Suns” or the “dictatorship.”
LĂłpez confirmed his position, stating: “First, yes, I agree with the US deployment against the Cartel of the Suns, a criminal organization that has infiltrated all state structures and has plundered and oppressed our country for years,” although no one knows exactly what the Cartel of the Suns is, including in the US.
“Second, yes, I agree with the US military actions on national territory aimed at dismantling the Cartel of the Suns and those who lead this criminal network that holds Venezuela hostage. For denouncing this in 2014, I was unjustly sentenced to 14 years in prison,” the far-right politician wrote. This means that he supports a US military invasion against Venezuela’s legitimate authorities while lying about his 2014 imprisonment, which was related to his responsibility in the killings of dozens of Venezuelans during far-right violent protests (guarimbas) that year.
LĂłpez continued: “Third, yes, I agree, as do millions of Venezuelans, with doing everything necessary—always in a legitimate, peaceful, and constitutional manner—to end Nicolás Maduro’s dictatorship.” This statement overlooks the countless times he has violated the law to organize violent protests, coup d’etats, mercenary incursions, and caused the death of innocent Venezuelans.
LĂłpez also claimed the Venezuelan Constitution does not contemplate revoking one’s citizenship, forgetting that the SimĂłn BolĂvar Law establishes instances where treason and calls for a foreign invasion might allow such a measure.
Venezuela’s Armed Forces Condemn Coup-Monger Leopoldo LĂłpez’s Call for US Invasion
Total public rejection of LĂłpez
According to a Hinterlaces poll released on Saturday, 92% of Venezuelans have an unfavorable opinion of LĂłpez.
The pollster reports that while LĂłpez approves of a US invasion of Venezuela, 94% of Venezuelans reject US military intervention.
Leopoldo LĂłpez and MarĂa Corina Machado are among the most rejected politicians, as reported by Hinterlaces polls over the last three to five years. This followed LĂłpez’s flight from Venezuela in 2020 and subsequent accusations of embezzlement of millions of dollars from assets seized by the US government during the failed GuaidĂł regime change operation.
Venezuelans living abroad, part of the opposition, have posted videos on social media platforms in recent years, demanding accountability from LĂłpez and questioning his lavish lifestyle in Spain. He recently traveled to Rome in a failed attempt to sabotage events related to the canonization of the first two Venezuelan Catholic saints.
Special for Orinoco Tribune by staff
OT/JRE/SC
