Leopoldo López, Venezuelan dissident, former political prisoner, and co-founder of the World Liberty Congress, addressed the 18th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy on February 18, 2026.
18th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy, U.N. Opening, Tuesday, February 17, 2026
Key Quotes:
“It’s bewildering to hear people talk about sovereignty of a dictator and not defending the sovereignty of the people that voted”
“We have heard claims about international law. People nervous about breaking the international law because of the capture of a dictator of a criminal. The international law that did not support millions of Venezuelans while they were being victims of the crimes committed by Nicolas Maduro and his regime.”
“When Venezuela transitions to democracy, Cuba will transition to democracy. Nicaragua will transition to democracy. And the impact will be felt in Africa, in Asia, Eastern Europe, and in the Middle East. Because this fight, my dear friends, is a global fight for freedom. So long live freedom.”
“For years we have been fighting for an idea that for some, is theoretical for us is vital. We have been fighting for freedom. And we understand what freedom is not from theory, not from poetry, not from music. We learn what freedom is. I myself did when I was in a solitary confinement cell for four years and condemned to confinement for seven years and I understood that freedom is not one thing. Freedom is the sum of many things. Freedom is the possibility to do what I’m doing today that I cannot do in my country to speak.”
