委內瑞拉反對派領袖抵達西班牙

Longtime Venezuelan opposition leader Antonio Ledezma arrived in Madrid, Saturday, where he was greeted by his family.

"Venezuela is not on the edge looking into the abyss. It is in the abyss," Ledezma said. "It's collapsing. And that's what I want to talk about with the (Spanish) Prime Minister Rajoy."

Ledezma, who had been under house arrest since 2015 for alleged coup plotting, said he escaped house arrest Friday and went to neighboring Colombia, passing dozens of police and army positions.

Before leaving Colombia, Ledezma said he was planning a “global pilgrimage” to fight for political freedom in Venezuela. Ledezma, the former mayor of Caracas, said he had spoken by phone with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, who offered his support.

Colombian immigration authorities said in a statement that Ledezma entered the country legally after crossing the Simon Bolivar bridge that separates the two countries.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro acknowledged the escape of Ledezma, who he mockingly calls “the vampire.”

The 62-year-old Ledezma had spearheaded street protests against Maduro in 2014 that led to months of violence. He spent a few months in jail, before being released and placed under house arrest in 2015 due to health issues.長期以來擔任委內瑞拉反對派領袖的萊德斯馬抵達馬德里，受到他家人的迎接。

萊德斯馬說：“委內瑞拉現在不是位於懸崖邊緣，而是已經陷入深淵。它正在崩潰。這就是我要和拉霍伊首相所談的。”

萊德斯馬自從被指2015年陰謀政變以來一直被軟禁。他說，他星期五逃離軟禁，經過幾十個警察和軍隊哨卡，最後抵達哥倫比亞。

萊德斯馬離開哥倫比亞之前說，他計劃走遍全球，爲委內瑞拉的政治自由奮鬥。曾經擔任加拉加斯市長的萊德斯馬說，他和哥倫比亞總統桑托斯通過電話，桑托斯對他予以支持。

哥倫比亞移民當局發表聲明說，萊德斯馬經由兩國間的西蒙·玻利瓦爾橋合法進入哥倫比亞。

委內瑞拉總統馬杜羅承認萊德斯馬已經逃走，嘲笑他是“吸血鬼”。

62歲的萊德斯馬領導了2014年反對馬杜羅的街頭抗議。委內瑞拉在那之後出現了數月的暴力。萊德斯馬被監禁了幾個月，2015年由於健康原因被釋放出獄，但一直被軟禁。