Leopoldo lpez

Some books are written with ink on paper; others, on laptops. But a new book by the Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo López was partly written on skin. Since February 2014, López has been locked up at Venezuela’s Ramo Verde prison on charges of inciting riots against the regime of President Nicolas Maduro. His sentence: more than 13 years. Shortly after he arrived, guards were ordered to keep him away from pen and paper so that he couldn’t communicate with the outside. Maduro doesn’t want López’s words reaching the world, but words can escape in other ways. “His sister Diana wrote paragraphs [of Lopez’s book] on her skin,” Lilian Tintori, López’s wife and a human-rights advocate, told me in a recent interview in Miami. “His mother wrote on her legs … I, too, wrote on small pieces of paper I took with me, or on my own skin.” These three women would collect any information they could when they … [Read more...] about Leopoldo López: Imprisoned, but not silent

It pains me deeply to watch the turmoil afflicting Mexico and Venezuela, two countries I love. Both are suffering so much internal strife that they seem on the brink of war—not with each other, or with other nations, but with themselves. Mexico is privileged both culturally and geographically—a country rich in solidarity, color and humor. It’s hard to feel lonely there, since the people are so welcoming. (And the food is quite tasty.) However, the International Institute for Strategic Studies recently described Mexico as the second most dangerous country in the world. Only Syria surpassed Mexico in deaths by violence in 2016—despite all of Mexico’s official denials about the body count. In the five years of President Enrique Peña Nieto’s tenure, more than 79,000 people have died violent deaths in Mexico. These days it’s hard to find a Mexican family that hasn’t been affected firsthand by violent crime. All you need to do is ask, and … [Read more...] about Two Nations Close to War—With Themselves

México y Venezuela son dos países a los que quiero mucho. Pero me duele enormemente ver lo que están viviendo. Es casi la guerra. México es un país maravilloso. Amoroso -es muy difícil sentirse solo ahí-, solidario, lleno de colores y de humor, muy privilegiado cultural y geográficamente. Oye, y qué rico se come. Pero hay tantos muertos que el Institute for Strategic Studies lo declaró el segundo país más peligroso del mundo. A pesar del pataleo oficial, en el 2016 solo en Siria murieron violentamente más personas que en México. Las cuentas son mortales. Con Enrique Peña Nieto ya pasamos los 79 mil muertos en menos de cinco años. Es difícil encontrar a una familia mexicana que no haya sufrido recientemente un crimen en carne propia. Basta preguntar sin mucho afán para escuchar un anecdotario del horror y del sadismo. De los últimos días se me han quedado grabadas dos imágenes: … [Read more...] about Jorge Ramos: Casi la guerra

Three Venezuelan political activists were released from jail Monday, including two filmmakers who were arrested in September after making this viral anti-government video. Carlos Melo, Andres Moreno, and Marco Trejo were released last night from a notorious prison run by the state intelligence agency. It appears to be a gesture of goodwill by Venezuela's government, which recently started talks with the opposition to try to negotiate a political solution to the country's crisis. The release of the filmmakers Moreno and Trejo was announced by Carlos Ocariz, an opposition politician who is part of negotiations with the government. He said their freedom is a sign that the talks with the government are heading in the right direction. “We are making progress,” the opposition politician tweeted, along with a photo of Andres Moreno. The third released prisoner, Melo, is a member of a minor political party and was not involved in the controversial film. The … [Read more...] about Venezuela releases 3 political prisoners. Only 111 to go

CARACAS, Venezuela—A Harvard graduate’s efforts to help improve his country hit an iron-barred wall this week when he got detained by Venezuelan state security forces and became the latest name on the country's growing list of political prisoners. Francisco Marquez, a 30-year-old graduate of the Kennedy School of Government and chief-of-staff for an opposition mayor in Caracas, was arrested on Sunday night in central Venezuela, along with fellow opposition activist Gabriel San Miguel. The two men are members of opposition party Voluntad Popular (VP), whose leader, another Kennedy School graduate, has been jailed in Venezuela since 2014 for leading protests that the government says led to violent revolts. Marquez and San Miguel were reportedly stopped by members of the National Guard at a remote highway checkpoint as they headed towards the rural state of Portuguesa to campaign for a recall referendum against President Nicolas Maduro. Their arrests come as the Venezuelan … [Read more...] about Another Harvard grad has become a ‘political prisoner’ in Venezuela