Venezuela top court issues arrest warrant for Leopold Lopez

Venezuela's top court issued an arrest warrant Thursday for Leopoldo López, a prominent opposition figure who appeared at a key rally Tuesday next to Juan Guaidó, leader of the movement against President Nicolás Maduro.

A Spanish government spokeswoman said Madrid had no intention of turning him over to Venezuelan authorities.a

After Guaidó appeal to the military to revolt, López, who had escaped house arrest after two years, sought refuge along with his family at the Spanish embassy in Caracas.

Guaidó is regrouping amid signs that his U.S.-backed campaign to oust Maduro is losing momentum.

Meanwhile, Maduro led a military parade through Caracas Thursday morning, thanking the troops for refusing to revolt against his government.

Guaidó's push to remove Maduro triggered demonstrations and violent clashes this week, with at least four deaths reported around the country.

The pre-dawn military uprising on Tuesday, urged on by opposition leader and Lopez ally Guaido, failed to gain steam as security forces loyal to Maduro cracked down on demonstrators who had taken to the streets in support of Guaido.

“The fissure that opened on April 30 will become a crack, and that crack is what is going to break the levee,” Lopez told reporters from Spain’s Caracas diplomatic residence.

He said he had met with commanders and generals from different sectors of Venezuela’s armed forces in his home in the past three weeks. “There we committed ourselves to contribute to the end of the usurpation,” he added.

Lopez, a firebrand politician and Guaido’s mentor, was arrested during a protest movement in 2014 and transferred to house arrest in 2017. He appeared together with Guaido and dozens of soldiers on Tuesday after escaping his home and before seeking refuge at the Spanish residence.

Guaidó, recognized by the U.S. and more than 50 other nations as Venezuela's legitimate interim leader, had hoped millions of Venezuelans would mobilize against Maduro during his country's May Day holiday, but only thousands showed up.