On Monday afternoon, Governor Rick Scott will host another Freedom Rally at El Arepazo 2 in Doral to call for the complete freedom of Leopoldo López and all political prisoners who have fought for democracy. Governor Scott and attendees will also call for free elections across Venezuela.
After transferring Lopez from a military prison to house arrest this weekend, President Nicolas Maduro said he wants Lopez to join him in calling for peace amid the country's three-month-old political turmoil.
Referring to Lopez by his initials, Maduro said Saturday evening on state television: "You know the deep differences I have with LL." Maduro added he hopes that now that Lopez has spent more than three years in prison, "this measure will be understood and he'll send a message in support of peace because that's what the country wants."
Lopez spent more than three years at the military prison on a nearly fourteen-year sentence for inciting violence during anti-government protests in which three people died and dozens were wounded. The 46-year-old opposition activist says he is prepared to return to jail rather than abandon his campaign to remove President Nicolas Maduro from power.
Lawmaker and close ally Freddy Guevara read a statement from Lopez outside his home Saturday, hours after Lopez was moved to house arrest. In the statement Lopez said his opposition to Maduro's government is as firm as his "convictions to fight for a real peace, coexistence, change and freedom." Lopez feels he is now "a prisoner in my home, like the Venezuelan people."
While the Maduro regime touted the Lopez transfer as a sign of good faith in calling for all sides to negotiate a peace, the move is not enough for Governor Scott or the Trump Administration.
"We welcome Leopoldo Lopez's release from prison, however his confinement under house arrest and continued denial of basic human rights is unacceptable to the United States," said a statement from the White House. "All Venezuelans should be able to express their political beliefs freely and the United States continues to call for the immediate release of all political prisoners held by the Maduro regime."
Back in February, President Donald Trump hosted a meeting with Lopez's wife in the Oval Office. That came three years after Scott and Florida Senator Marco Rubio led a rally in support of the Venezuelan opposition forces and another event was held this past May. Scott has also discussed a proposal to be considered at his August cabinet meeting to cut off all business between Florida and Venezuela.
"Venezuelans endure long lines to purchase basic necessities all while Maduro's dictatorship blames companies for the country’s shortages," Scott wrote in a recent op-ed. "The Maduro regime continues to mismanage the country's oil resources, has produced a swollen inflation rate and dismal exchange rate, leaving the Venezuelan people to deal with hardship and corruption."
Today, the Governor will return to the same site at the popular Venezuelan restaurant located 3900 NW 79th Avenue in Miami which is at the corner of NW 36th Street, just west of the Palmetto Expressway. The rally is set to begin at 1:30 p.m.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
(Photo credit: Joe Raedle)