Leopoldo López is a Freedom Activist from Venezuela. He was a
political prisoner from 2014 to 2020 after being sentenced to fourteen
years in prison for leading non-violent street protests and civil
resistance in 2014. After spending seven years in confinement, he
managed to escape the autocratic regime of Nicolas Maduro in October
of 2020 and was able to travel to Spain where he lives with his family.
Leopoldo López is married to Lilian Tintori and has three children.
From 2000 to 2008 Leopoldo López was mayor of the Municipality of Chacao in Caracas and was
later illegally disqualified to run for office. He won his case at the Inter American Commission on
Human Rights (IACHR). In 2009, he founded the political party and freedom movement called
Voluntad Popular (Popular Will) and became its national coordinator. Leopoldo López is the co-
founder of the World Liberty Congress, an organization launched in 2022 that seeks to serve as the
counterweight against the global autocratic alliance by connecting non-violent, prodemocracy
activists and leaders from across the globe. Also, presently Leopoldo López is a visiting fellow at the
Wilson Center and The Institute, and has also been a lecturer in the Freeman Spogli Institute for
International Studies in Stanford University.