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Venezuelan court upholds sentence against opposition leader

Associated Press
Published | Updated
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    FILE - In this Feb 18, 2014 file photo, opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, dressed in white and holding up flowers, is taken into custody by Bolivarian National Guards, in Caracas, Venezuela. Venezuela's supreme court rejected an appeal and ratified on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017, the 14 year sentence given to Lopez. (AP Photo/Alejandro Cegarra, File) (The Associated Press)

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    Antonieta Mendoza, mother of jailed opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, from left, Lilian Tintori, Lopez’s wife, and Mitzy Capriles, wife of jailed Caracas Mayor Antonio Ledezma, chant ”Freedom" upon their arrival to the Simon Bolivar International Airport, in Maiquetia, Venezuela, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017. U.S. President Donald Trump's surprise Oval Office meeting Wednesday night with Tintori sent shockwaves on social media in Venezuela but it remains to be seen if his willingness to quickly take up the cause of the opposition will help or hamper regional efforts to resolve the nation's political and economic crisis (AP Photo/Fernando Llano) (The Associated Press)

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    A supporter of Lilian Tintori, wife of jailed opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, left, and a government supporter clash outside the Simon Bolivar International Airport, in Maiquetia near Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017. Tintori was greeted by supporters after returning to Venezuela a day after meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump. The surprise Oval Office meeting Wednesday night between Trump and Tintori sent shockwaves on social media in Venezuela but it remains to be seen if his willingness to quickly take up the cause of the opposition will help or hamper regional efforts to resolve the nation's political and economic crisis. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano) (The Associated Press)

CARACAS, Venezuela – Venezuela's highest court has upheld a 14-year prison sentence for opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, ruling a day after U.S. President Donald Trump called for his release after meeting with Lopez's wife.

Lopez was found guilty of inciting violence during a wave of deadly anti-government protests in 2014, a conviction that many foreign governments see as politically motivated.

Thursday's ruling makes the conviction final.

A day earlier Trump tweeted a photo of himself with Lopez's wife, Lilian Tintori, demanding that the opposition leader be let out "immediately."

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez accused Trump of committing an "aggression" against Venezuela.

The development comes during a turbulent week for U.S.-Venezuela relations. The U.S. announced sanctions against Venezuela's vice president Monday, accusing him of playing a major role in international drug trafficking.

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