Lilian Tintori

Lilian Adriana Tintori Parra (born 5 May 1978) is a Venezuelan activist, athlete, and television and radio host. Tintori is the wife of Leopoldo López, a Venezuelan politician sentenced in 2015 to nearly 14 years in prison for "inciting violence" during street protests the year before.[1] She has also led groups who have opposed the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.[2]

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Tintori and the second or maternal family name is Parra.
Lilian Tintori
Personal details
Born (1978-05-05) 5 May 1978
Caracas, Venezuela
SpouseLeopoldo López Mendoza
Children3
Residence(s)Caracas, Venezuela
Alma materAndrés Bello Catholic University
ProfessionActivist

Early life and education

Tintori was born in Caracas, Venezuela on May 5, 1978. Her mother is Venezuelan and her father is of Italian descent. She studied at Merici Academy. She earned a bachelor's degree in preschool education with a minor in political communications from the Andrés Bello Catholic University.[3]

Career

Entertainment

In 2001, Tintori was part of the reality TV Show Robinson: La Gran Aventura. The show was a big success in Venezuela. Even though Tintori did not win, this experience helped her build a career in the entertainment industry. Tintori was a television host for RCTV and Televen, a former radio personality for La Mega, Hot 94 and Ateneo 100.7. Eventually, Tintori's face was seen on billboards in Venezuela.

Tintori was Venezuela's 2003 Kitesurfing National Champion[4] and is the founder of the Prokite Foundation, which works to provide kitesurfing gear to unprivileged kitesurfers.[3] Tintori is also an ambassador for the Socieven Association, which works to raise awareness of the plight of the deaf and blind. She also works with the BFC Foundation for its violence against women campaign and with the Young Foundation for Human Rights.[3]

Human rights
Lilian Tintori holding a flag during a protest in Venezuela.

Following the arrest of her husband during the 2014 Venezuelan protests, Tintori became a face of Venezuela's opposition movement.[5] In an op-ed for The Washington Post, she denied interest in politics while telling The Atlantic that "Leopoldo is the politician ... I’m a human-rights activist, a Venezuelan, a mother, and a victim myself, and I’m very close to the victims of my country".[5] She traveled internationally to meet with individuals such as United States vice president Joe Biden, Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy and Pope Francis, to seek assistance with the releasing her husband and other political prisoners in Venezuela.[5]

President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro sees Tintori as a threat and has called for her work to be "neutralized" and described her as a "terrorist".[5] According to Tintori, Venezuelan authorities often follow her and intimidate her daily.[5] While visiting her husband López in prison, she, as well as her mother-in-law, have been forced to undergo "intimate" strip searches by Venezuelan authorities, with Tintori's children present at times.[6][7]

On 29 August 2017, the scientific police of Venezuela (CICPC) stated that they found 200 million bolívares in cash–around 10,000 USD at that time– split in four wooden boxes in a car belonging to Tintori.[8][9] Tintori and two vicepresindents of the bank BOD were prohibited from leaving the country during the investigation. Tintori assured that the money was for personal use (to pay a doctor for her mother) and expressed that the Venezuelan government was attempting to prevent her from going on an international tour to meet with European leaders.[10] On 2 September 2017, she was prevented from leaving for Europe, prompting French President Emmanuel Macron to tweet his support.[11]

Tintori, on June 14, 2017, was awarded the 2017 Palabra Prize.

Personal life

On 19 April 2007, Tintori married Leopoldo López.[3][12] They have three children: Manuela Rafaela, born in 2009;[13] Leopoldo Santiago, born in 2013;[14] and Federica Antonieta, born in 2018.[15]

Awards and honors
  • 2003 – Venezuelan Kitesurfing National Champion[3]
  • 2014 – Honor of Merit, Freedom and Democracy at the 6th World Summit for Communication Policy in Mexico "for her struggle for human rights and democracy in Venezuela and Latin America".[16]
  • 2017 – 2017 Palabra Prize, in recognition for her work in favor of democracy and peace. The award, presented by the Spanish Federation of Journalist Associations (Federación de Asociaciones de Periodistas de España, FAPE), with the sponsorship of the César Egido Foundation, had an endowment of 10,000 euros.[17]

References
  1. "Human rights groups, U.S. condemn prison sentence for Venezuelan politician". Retrieved 8 July 2017.
  2. Wilson, Peter (26 February 2014). "Women in white protest violence in Venezuela". USA Today. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
  3. "Lilian Tintori- Venezuelan Politician Leopoldo Lopez's Wife". Daily Entertainment News. 18 February 2014. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  4. Taylor, Jeffrey (27 April 2015). "The accidental face of Venezuela's opposition". The Atlantic. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  5. Tayler, Jeffrey (27 April 2015). "The Accidental Face of Venezuela's Opposition". The Atlantic. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  6. Alexander, Harriet (19 January 2016). "Venezuelan prison authorities strip-search both wife and mother of jailed opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  7. Tintori, Lilian (10 February 2016). "I'll Keep Fighting for Venezuelans' Rights, Despite the Regime's Attacks on My Family". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  8. "Confiscan a Lilian Tintori 200 millones de bolívares que llevaba en su coche". Público. Caracas. 30 August 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  9. "Tintori reveló por qué tenía Bs 200 millones en efectivo". EFE. 2 September 2017. p. El Nacional. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
  10. "Lilian Tintori no podrá reunirse con Rajoy tras ser imputada por el dinero hallado en su coche". eldiario.es. 2 September 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  11. "Activist Tintori says she is barred from leaving Venezuela". Reuters. 2 September 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  12. (in Spanish) "Lilian Tintori conmemora el 9º aniversario de boda con Leopoldo López [+Fotos]". Versión Final. 19 April 2016. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  13. (in Spanish) "Leopoldo López presenta a su hija Manuela por twitter". El Universal. 20 September 2009. Archived from the original on 24 September 2009. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  14. Taylor, Jeffrey (27 April 2015). "The accidental face of Venezuela's opposition". The Atlantic. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  15. (in Spanish) Moleiro, Alonso (23 January 2018). "Lilian Tintori anuncia el nacimiento de Federica, su nueva hija con Leopoldo López". El País. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  16. "Cumbre Mundial de Comunicación Política pide liberación de Leopoldo López". El Nacional. 7 December 2014. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  17. "Lilian Tintori ganadora de la primera edición del Premio Palabra". fape.es (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2017-11-24.
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