Venezuelan opposition leader taken into custody during rally

Tens of thousands of protesters flooded the streets of Venezuela's capital on Tuesday after troops arrested opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez on charges of fomenting unrest against the government and violence that has killed at least four people.

White-clad demonstrators blocked traffic in the streets of Caracas as a security vehicle holding the 42-year-old, Harvard-educated economist crawled at a snail's pace after he surrendered to security forces during an opposition rally.

Lopez's arrest could galvanize the opposition and spur more street demonstrations against President Nicolas Maduro, though there is no immediate sign the protests will topple the leader.

"I have nothing to hide," Lopez said before his arrest, standing on a platform next to a statue of Cuban poet and independence hero Jose Marti.

Minutes later, he surrendered to army officers, pumping his fist and then stepping into the military vehicle with a Venezuelan flag in one hand and a white flower in the other.

"I present myself to an unjust judiciary. ... May my jailing serve to wake up a people," he added in the speech.

Lopez, wanted on charges including murder and terrorism, said he is being made a scapegoat by the government.

From inside the military vehicle, he called on demonstrators to clear the way so authorities could take him into custody.

As protesters chanted "Leopoldo, the people are with you", he was transferred to a black van and driven away.

His supporters followed for several kilometers until he was taken into a military base, with police shutting off access to numerous avenues on the way to control the crowd.

Demonstrators remained congregated on the outskirts of the La Carlota air base in eastern Caracas, and elsewhere.

The demonstrators are demanding Maduro's resignation and expressing a litany of complaints from inflation and violent crime to corruption and product shortages.

Reuters-AP

(China Daily 02/20/2014 page10)