Venezuelan opposition leader charged with conspiring to kill president
Under Venezuelan law, she faces eight to 16 years in prison if convicted, it said.
CARACAS (AFP) - The Venezuelan government charged a prominent opposition leader Wednesday of conspiracy in an alleged plot to assassinate President Nicolas Maduro.
Maria Corina Machado, a vocal supporter of anti-government protests that rocked the country earlier this year, vehemently rejected the charges as she left the attorney general s office after undergoing questioning.
"Today they have charged me with the crime of conspiracy," she said. "All the accusations and supposed evidence are false, and I reject them."
The attorney general s office said in a statement she had been charged with "conspiracy" for "allegedly having links to the assassination plan against the president."
Maduro, who succeeded the late Hugo Chavez last year and has come under mounting political pressure as the country s oil-based economy sours, has made frequent claimed of assassination and other plots against him.
Machado, who was ousted from her seat in the National Assembly in March, has been one of the most visible figures in a protest movement against the government.
In May, ruling party leaders made public emails that they claimed showed Machado was plotting against Maduro with others, including the US ambassador to Colombia Kevin Whitaker.
Machado said Wednesday the evidence against her amounted to slander.
She arrived at the attorney general s office accompanied by the leader of the main opposition coalition, Jesus Torrealba, Caracas mayor Antonio Ledezma and about 100 supporters.
