Caracas Mayor Arrested Over ‘Coup Plot’
Venezuelan police have arrested Caracas mayor and opposition leader Antonio Ledezma, who the Venezuelan government has accused of helping plan what it says was a U.S.-backed coup against the socialist government.
Heavily armed security forces, outfitted in masks and camouflaged uniforms, on Thursday seized Ledezma after breaking down the doors of his office in the banking district and firing warning shots into the air.
President Nicolas Maduro accuses the 59-year-old mayor of being behind a coup, which he says also involved military aviation officers.
“On the orders of state prosecutors, [Mayor Ledezma] was captured and will be processed by the Venezuelan justice system for crimes committed against the peace of the country,” Maduro said.