The Real Opposition Leader In Venezuela

A placard depicting jailed Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez is seen during a rally in support of political prisoners and against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, in Los Teques, Venezuela April 28, 2017. REUTERS/Marco Bello

The Guardian: This man plotted Guaidó's rise – and still dreams of leading Venezuela

Leopoldo López led the opposition’s challenge to Maduro from house arrest but could his protege thwart his own ambitions?

When Juan Guaidó declared himself Venezuela’s interim president last month, he appeared to leapfrog a generation of rival opposition leaders and offer a dramatic way past the infighting and tactical differences that had hobbled previous efforts to unseat Nicolás Maduro.

But the rise of the fresh-faced opposition leader was orchestrated by a Harvard-educated economist with a checkered history in Venezuelan politics, who continues to direct opposition strategy and coordinate with US and regional officials from under house arrest in Venezuela.

Interviews with Venezuelan opposition figures and officials in Washington have confirmed that Leopoldo López, a divisive former mayor of a Caracas borough, helped engineer Guaidó’s meteoric rise – and still harbours ambitions to become Venezuela’s next president.

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WNU Editor: Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez is the person that I always thought would be the next Venezuelan President. Was thrown in jail for three years. House arrest even more. Always threatened by the government's security forces. Widely supported but prohibited by former President Chavez from running in an election. He has all the credibility to be the opposition leader. But his support of Juan Guaidó is in my opinion a brilliant move. Juan Guaidóis is a new and fresh person that many governments now view as the legitimate leader of Venezuela, and more importantly, he is someone that appeals to everyone. Leopoldo Lopez has not been able to unite the opposition, and I think he recognizes that. I also think that he .... like almost everyone else .... has made the decision to work together to remove Maduro as quickly as possible. As much as the opposition is fractured, they are united in this cause, and they have given their support to Juan Guaidó to do so.