Venezuelan opposition mayor arrested for coup attempt, conspiracy

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has said that Caracas metropolitan mayor has been arrested for involvement in a thwarted coup attempt and of conspiring against the government.

"Antonio Ledezma was captured with an order from our prosecutor's office and he will be processed by justice for all crimes he has committed against the peace of our country and the Constitution," Maduro said Thursday.

Maduro added that Ledezma was one of the promoters of the coup and has a "hide and seek attitude" by displaying himself as a democrat but "working behind curtains" to destabilise the country with violence, Xinhua reported.

"Enough of conspiracies, coup attempts and violence from hardline right-wing sectors in the country," he said.

According to Ledezma's wife, Mitzy Capriles, the opposition mayor was detained by officials from the National Intelligence Service (SEBIN) at his office.

Reports of the arrest set off protests around the city where people spontaneously banged pots from their windows.

Hundreds gathered in front of the headquarters of intelligence service police to vent their anger.

Last week, senior government officials accused Ledezma and other opposition politicians of plotting a coup along with air force officials that included assassinating Maduro and attacks on other "strategic targets".

Maduro said that Ledezma, along with jailed opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, and former opposition lawmaker Maria Corina Machado, signed a "transition document" that would have been published in a national newspaper as the initial sign of the coup.