WASHINGTON: The United States Friday voiced concern at the growing "intimidation" of the Venezuelan opposition, a day after the arrest of the Caracas mayor.
"We are deeply concerned by the escalation of intimidation against the opposition by the government of Venezuela," top US diplomat for Latin America Roberta Jacobson wrote in a series of Spanish tweets on her Twitter account.
She called on Venezuela to free opposition leaders "as they have been unjustly imprisoned and to improve respect for human rights."
Masked intelligence service agents arrested Mayor Antonio Ledezma, a veteran opposition figure, on Thursday over what socialist President Nicolas Maduro alleges was a coup plot financed by the United States.
Maduro calls Ledezma "The Vampire" and has accused him of being behind last year's anti-government protests that left 43 dead.
Maduro linked him to the supposed coup plotted by military aviation officials with what Maduro alleges is help from the United States.
Washington has dismissed Maduro's claims as "baseless and false."
"The United States is not promoting unrest in Venezuela nor are we attempting to undermine Venezuela's economy or its government," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement late Thursday.
Jacobson insisted in her tweets that the "only way to solve Venezuela's problems is through dialogue between Venezuelans, not through silencing critics."
She called on all the countries of Latin American to work together to ensure that Venezuela "fulfils its commitment to democracy."
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