Latin America
Related: About this forumVenezuela opposition leader Daniel Cabellos seized and imprisoned
Source: Associated Press
Associated Press in Bogota
Saturday 27 August 2016 22.20 BST
A prominent Venezuelan opposition leader has been jailed again after intelligence agents picked him up at his home before dawn on Saturday, a move the government said was necessary to prevent acts of violence but which has alarmed opposition and human rights groups.
Patricia Gutierrez said agents from the Sebin intelligence agency arrived around 3am without notice at the family home where her husband, Daniel Ceballos, had been held under house arrest.
She said they put Ceballos in an ambulance, saying they were taking for a medical exam, but instead transported the former mayor of San Cristobál to the jail in central Guarico state where was held for more than a year until August 2015, when he was granted house arrest due to kidney problems.
His transfer to jail came as the opposition vowed a mass protest on Thursday to demand that authorities allow a recall referendum to go ahead. A successful yes vote this year would cut short President Nicolás Maduros term and trigger new elections.
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/27/daniel-cabellos-venezuela-opposition-leader-imprisoned
MADem
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Meanwhile, the Venezuelan foreign ministry confirmed the expulsion of a group of Ecuadoran lawmakers who had met in Caracas with opposition leaders, accusing them of "destabilizing" activities.
Cynthia Viteri, a member of the Ecuadoran Congress, said the group was intercepted Friday by government intelligence personnel outside a military prison where Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez is jailed.
"What we have lived through in #Venezuela was terrifying," she said Saturday, adding that the group had now arrived back home.
The incident comes amid rising political tensions as Maduro fends off pressure to hold a recall vote this year that could force him from office.
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https://www.yahoo.com/news/venezuela-sends-opposition-leader-back-jail-expels-ecuadoran-174800394.html
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