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Caracas Mayor Held Since 2015 Escapes House Arrest, Arrives In Colombia

Associated Press
Anti-government demonstrators holds a poster that reads in Spanish "The jails won't shut the truth" and the image of opposition leader arrested Antonio Ledezma during a protest against Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas.

One of Venezuela’s highest-profile political prisoners, the former mayor of Caracas, escaped from house arrest early Friday and made his way into Colombia, immigration officials confirmed.

Antonio Ledezma has been under arrest since Feb. 19, 2015, when the socialist administration accused him of plotting a coup against President Nicolás Maduro — charges the U.S. State Department has called “ludicrous.”

Speaking to radio reporters in the Colombian border town of Cúcuta, Ledezma said he was going to travel the world to keep fighting for Venezuela.

Read more at our news partner, the Miami Herald.

Jim Wyss is the South America bureau chief for The Miami Herald. He has a master of science degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and a bachelor of arts degree from American University in journalism and Spanish. He lives in Bogota, Colombia.
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