Leopoldo López receives Spanish nationality for his “defense of democratic values”

Eduardo González The Council of Ministers granted Spanish nationality by naturalization to Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo López on Tuesday, March 31, in recognition of his work in “defending democratic values” and as a demonstration of the Government’s “commitment” “to the Venezuelan people and their democratic transition.” According to a press release from the Ministry of Justice, the Council of Ministers approved a Royal Decree “granting Spanish nationality by naturalization to Leopoldo López, opposition leader to the governments of Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela.” His naturalization had been announced the previous day by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, who specified that López himself had formally requested Spanish citizenship. “Naturalization is granted at the discretion of the government in exceptional cases, such as that of López, who has been unable to obtain citizenship through ordinary channels due to the Venezuelan government's refusal to provide him with basic documentation, including a passport,” the Ministry stated. López, born in Caracas 54 years ago, was mayor of the Chacao municipality between 2000 and 2008 and national coordinator of the Popular Will party since 2009. In 2014, he was imprisoned on charges of promoting protests against the government of Nicolás Maduro (overthrown on January 3rd following the US military assault on Caracas) and spent more than three years in Ramo Verde prison (in Miranda State, in the north) before being placed under house arrest. In late April 2019, hours after being freed from house arrest by a group of sympathetic military officers, López was granted asylum at the Spanish Embassy in Caracas by the then-ambassador, the recently deceased Jesús Silva. López remained at the Embassy for over a year before being transferred to Spain in November 2020. According to the Ministry of Justice, “the granting of citizenship is based on his political relevance, his defense of democratic values, and his exceptional situation, in which he is not recognized as a national by his own country. Therefore, the Government wishes to emphasize that this decision reflects its commitment to the Venezuelan people and their democratic transition.” In statements to the newspaper ‘El País’ on March 25, López said he would like to return to Venezuela “as soon as possible” but reiterated that the Maduro regime had stripped him of his citizenship, “something that is expressly prohibited by the Venezuelan Constitution.”

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