## Maduro Moves too Strip Opposition Leader Leopoldo Lรณpez ofโข Venezuelan Nationality
Venezuelan President โNicolรกs โMaduro is taking steps to revoke โขthe nationality of prominent opposition figure Leopoldo โฃLรณpez, aโ moveโ widely condemned asโ unconstitutional. โฃThe action comes amidst increasing repression of dissent, mirroring tactics โemployed by the Nicaraguan government of Daniel โOrtegaโ and Rosario Murillo against its opponents.
Lรณpez will be the first leading Venezuelan opposition member to be stripped ofโ citizenship under the recently approved Simรณn Bolรญvar Law, which criminalizes support for international sanctionsโ against the Venezuelan government, labeling it “betrayal of the country.”
The move follows an interview whereโ Lรณpez openly advocated for a military intervention by the โคUnited States against the “criminal structure” governing Venezuela, a reference to the Chavista government. He stated, “20 years of political and diplomatic negotiations have not produced results” in restoring democracy,โ and asserted that “the majority of the Venezuelan military is not going to โgo out and immolate themselves to protect โthe dictatorship, among other thingsโค because they โsuffer its consequences.”
Vice President Delcy Rodrรญguez justified Maduro’sโ action, citing Lรณpez’s “grotesque, criminal and โคillegal call for military aggression against venezuela, the permanent promotion of the economic blockade of the countryโ and the call to mass murder Venezuelans in complicity with foreign governments.”
Lรณpez is a โcontroversial figure โwithin the Venezuelan opposition, known forโ his assertive stance. While popular with some, his approach has drawn criticism from more moderate factions within the โopposition, โsomeโ of whom have publicly accused โhimโ of damagingโค their โคcause.
A long-time advocate for international sanctions against the Maduro regime, Lรณpezโ was among the first opposition leaders to be politicallyโ disqualified. He was also an โearly voice denouncing the escalating humanitarianโ crisis in Venezuela.โข he was imprisoned from 2014 to โ2019 on charges of inciting publicโข protests โand conspiring against the government, accusations โhe denied.
Following a pardon grantingโค him house arrest in โฃ2019, Lรณpez participated in a failed attempt to overthrow Maduro alongside โJuan โคGuaidรณ, following the contested 2018 presidential elections. This attempt, on โApril โข30th, โคdrew criticism from some colleagues and solidified his statusโ as a key target for the Chavistaโ government. Shortly thereafter,Lรณpez sought asylum at the Spanish embassy andโค later left the country clandestinely.
