Mexico protecting Venezuelan opposition lawmaker
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Mexico says its diplomatic residence in Venezuela's capital is providing protection to a member of that country's opposition-controlled congress.
The foreign affairs ministry says National Assembly member Franco Manuel Casella Lovaton arrived at the residence Tuesday.
Casella is president of the congress subcommittee on human rights and a member of opposition leader Juan Guaidó's Popular Will party. Guaidó is leading the effort to remove Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, with the backing of the United States and other countries.
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Mexico says giving refuge to Casella does not negate its non-intervention stance on the crisis in Venezuela. Mexico says it is committed to human rights and wants to emphasize its support for parliamentary immunity for Venezuelan lawmakers.
Venezuela's government-allied courts have lifted the immunity for some legislators and opened investigations against them.