Diplomat Jesús Silva, the former Spanish ambassador to Caracas who sheltered opposition leader Leopoldo López, has died.

Spanish diplomat Jesús Silva has died in Mexico at the age of 63. The former Spanish ambassador to Caracas was currently serving as consul general in Guadalajara.

"He knew how to handle the pressures of the dictatorship without giving an inch on principles, he knew how to stay informed and be an active diplomat," Leopoldo López highlights in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

"I met Jesús in person on April 30, 2019 , when I ran away from home—under house arrest—and managed to reach the Spanish embassy. For a year and a half, I spent time with him and his incredible wife, Sara," López recounts.

Silva was recalled from Caracas in November 2020, following one of his many disagreements with the Bolivarian revolution, and was replaced by Ramón Santos , who served as Chargé d'Affaires of the Spanish embassy in the Venezuelan capital.

With this dismissal, Pedro Sánchez 's government began to distance itself from Juan Guaidó 's interim presidency, despite the fact that it was the European country that most supported his recognition in 2019.

" In 2022, he received the Human Rights Foundation's Diplomat for Freedom Award, and in his words, he demonstrated how the diplomacy of democratic countries must be active in sowing democracy where there is none," recalls Leopoldo López.

Since arriving in Caracas in 2017, Silva has opened the doors of the diplomatic mission to civil society, the opposition, and members of the government, with whom she has maintained ties for three and a half years. In fact, as soon as her expulsion was decided in 2018 due to pressure from Diosdado Cabello , the revolution's second-in-command, it was Cilia Flores herself, Nicolás Maduro 's wife and "first revolutionary combatant," who was tasked with negotiating with the Spanish government for Silva's return.

The embassy also became a refuge for the families of political prisoners. Spanish efforts allowed several prisoners, including those with dual nationality, to be released. One of them, Lorent Saleh , was released and escorted to Madrid by Secretary of State Juan Pablo de Laiglesia .

Jesús Silva was born on April 14, 1962 in Seville , studied Law at the Complutense University of Madrid and entered the diplomatic service in 1990.