Venezuelan opposition leader transferred from military prison

Venezuelan authorities moved a prominent opposition leader from a military prison to a private clinic and eventual house arrest early Saturday, officials and the politician's family said. The transfer of Antonio Ledezma, the mayor of Caracas, from the Ramo Verde military prison to a private clinic in the capital was carried out at 2:30 am under tight security, his political party said. It followed an announcement late Friday by the attorney general's office that Ledezma would be placed under house arrest for health reasons after undergoing surgery. The development appeared to mark a shift by the leftist government of President Nicolas Maduro, who has come under growing international criticism for the jailing of his opponents. The imprisonment of Ledezma and Leopoldo Lopez, another opposition leader held at the Ramo Verde military prison, was seen as a major obstacle to a political dialogue at a time when the deeply polarized country is immersed in a worsening economic crisis. Ledezma's wife, Mitzy Capriles, said her husband was examined on Friday by his own doctor and two others from the Venezuelan intelligence service and they agreed he required surgery for a hernia. "The date of the operation will depend on pre-operative tests," she said. The attorney general's office said that once the surgery has been performed, Ledezma would be taken to his home and kept under house arrest "to guarantee his recovery." The 59-year-old Ledezma was detained by intelligence agents on February 19, accused of "allegedly supporting groups that intended to destabilize the country by means of violent actions." Lopez has been held even longer. He surrendered to authorities in February 2014 and was charged with inciting anti-government protests that were met by a harsh crackdown. At least 43 people were killed in the unrest, which ran from February until May 2014. Capriles and Lopez's wife, Lilian Tintori, have been seeking international support to free their husbands. Spain's chamber of deputies passed a measure Tuesday urging the government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to "take all pertinent initiatives" to obtain the immediate release of Ledezma, Lopez and other political prisoners in Venezuela. The Chilean Senate took a similar vote the same day calling for the release of political prisoners in Venezuela. Former Spanish prime minister Felipe Gonzalez, meanwhile, has announced plans to visit Venezuela in mid-May to help with Ledezma and Lopez's defense.