Venezuelan opposition leader seeks political asylum in Spain

Venezuelan opposition leader and former metropolitan Mayor of Caracas, Antonio Ledezma, has submitted a request for political asylum in Spain.

Even though Ledezma himself, who arrived in Spain a week ago from Colombia after fleeing Venezuela, had stated he had no intention of seeking asylum, Spanish government spokesman Iñigo Mendez de Vigo announced on Friday that he had changed his mind, Efe news reported.

"It's another indication of the Venezuelan people's struggle to recover their freedom and a normal democracy," the Spanish spokesman said, after noting that the opposition leader himself stated after landing in Madrid, that "today upon arriving in Spain, I feel free".

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy received Ledezma last Saturday. The Venezuelan opposition leader had been under house arrest in his country since 2015, accused of conspiracy and criminal association.

Ledezma met Rajoy and the latter told him that Spain will continue working bilaterally and in collaboration with its European and Ibero-American partners to help reach a fully democratic solution for Venezuela.

Ledezma censured the situation his country is going through and has called on other opposition leaders to forget about the "personal issues" and certain "inconsistencies" of recent times.

Earlier this week, the opposition majority at Caracas City Hall cancelled Ledezma's title of metropolitan Mayor after he fled the country.

--IANS

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