Venezuela Opp leader flees to Colombia

CARACAS/BOGOTA: Venezuelan opposition leader Antonio Ledezma, who was detained in 2015 on allegations of coup-plotting but had been under house arrest in Caracas, has fled over the border to Colombia, authorities said on Friday. “Welcome to freedom!” tweeted former Colombian President Andres Pastrana, who is close to Venezuela’s opposition. Ledezma, 62, was the best-known detained opponent of President Nicolas Maduro’s government after Leopoldo Lopez, who is also under house arrest in Caracas. The former Caracas metropolitan mayor spearheaded street protests against Maduro in 2014 that led to months of violence and 43 deaths.