Oswaldo Álvarez Paz's attorney, Omar Estacio, termed "big mistake" the arrest of Álvarez Paz on charges of conspiracy, incitement to commit a crime and spreading false information.

Estacio said that on November 11, 2009, the plenary session of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ) said that the crime of conspiracy required the participation and agreement of at least two people.

"There is no such a thing as solo conspiracy and Oswaldo Álvarez Paz has been charged with an offense that could be called solo conspiracy. This runs counter to all the universal doctrine related to this type of offense," Estacio said.

Under such ruling, which was the result of a complaint filed by lawyer Hermann Escarrá, Helen Fernández, Oscar Pérez and Antonio Ledezma, for alleged irregularities committed by President Hugo Chávez during the constitutional referendum, the TSJ said: "...At the heart of the legal action is conspiracy, which has been defined as the agreement of two or more persons to carry out an action and their decision to do it..."

The charges against the opposition leader are related to views expressed by Álvarez Paz during talk show "Hello Citizen," broadcast by opposition TV channel Globovisión on March 8. The Venezuelan political leader referred to the indictment made by the Spanish judge Eloy Velasco about the alleged contribution of the Venezuelan government with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the armed Basque separatist group ETA.