Leopoldo López

Leopoldo López is a Venezuelan politician and founder of the Voluntad Popular party. In 2014, López called for peaceful protests of the Venezuelan government’s failure to respond to high levels of urban violence, inflation, and chronic shortages of basic goods. Lopez was sentenced to 13 years in prison on trumped-up politically motivated charges of arson and conspiracy.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has called for the release of those arrested in connection with the Venezuelan protests. Following his eventual release in 2019, Lopez was forced to flee Venezuela and live in exile. He continues to work for free and transparent elections throughout Latin America and has received multiple awards from various NGOs for his activism.