Jailed opposition mayor may be granted home arrest in Venezuela

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan authorities requested on Friday that jailed opposition mayor Antonio Ledezma be granted home arrest due to medical problems, a move that could soften international pressure over his case. Ledezma, 59, a lawyer and hardline opposition leader who is mayor of Caracas, was jailed in February, accused of conspiring to overthrow President Nicolas Maduro's socialist government. He is the highest-profile Maduro foe arrested after fellow opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, detained last year for his role in protests that brought months of violence causing 43 deaths. Many Maduro supporters loathe Ledezma, whom they call "The Vampire." They do not forgive him for supporting a short-lived 2002 coup against former leader Hugo Chavez. Ledezma denies the charges against him, and foreign criticism has been swift from the United States and various rights groups. The Public Prosecutor's Office said in a statement it had asked a court to allow Ledezma out in order to undergo an operation and then recover at home. The mayor's wife Mitzy said that Ledezma's doctor, plus two doctors working for state security, examined him in custody on Friday. "The three agree on a hernia diagnostic, and the need for surgical treatment as soon as possible," she Tweeted. (Reporting by Andrew Cawthorne; Editing by David Gregorio)