A piece of good news: Leopoldo López, the leading opposition figure in Venezuela, has been released — released to house arrest. He spent more than three years in solitary confinement, within a military prison: 1,235 days. He has been tortured (of course). The regime says they have transferred him to house arrest as a “humanitarian measure,” given López’s health.
He has a saying, a slogan: “El que se cansa, pierde.” “He who tires, loses.” It seems that Leopoldo López will outlive the chavista dictatorship. He may even be president of his country one day.
I think of what George W. Bush said in his second inaugural address:
All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know: The United States will not ignore your oppression, or excuse your oppressors. When you stand for your liberty, we will stand with you.
Democratic reformers facing repression, prison, or exile can know: America sees you for who you are: the future leaders of your free country.
The rulers of outlaw regimes can know that we still believe as Abraham Lincoln did: “Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves; and, under the rule of a just God, cannot long retain it.”