Venezuela's Maduro renews crackdown on political opposition

Caracas mayor Antonio Ledezma (pictured), a leading political opposition figure in Venezuela, was taken into custody on Thursday night by the country's intelligence service.

Hours later, President Nicolás Maduro addressed the nation to confirm the detention and accused Ledezma of plotting to overthrow his administration, after the mayor released a statement on February 11 calling for a "national accord for a peaceful transition."

The Caracas mayor was dragged out of his office and carried away one week after protesters took to the streets to mark the one-year anniversary of clashes between demonstrators and government loyalists that resulted in 43 deaths.

The 2014 protests led to the arrest of opposition leader Leopoldo López, who has been in jail ever since and is considered a political prisoner by human rights groups.

Maduro's repeated claims of political and economic coup attempts, his crackdown on the political opposition and the social unrest come at a time when Venezuela is struggling to cope with the oil price crash, increasing inflation and the possibility of a sovereign default, along with scarcity of basic goods such as medicine and food items, and long lines at the supermarkets.