Caracas, January 19 (RHC-teleSUR) -- The Attorney General of Venezuela has filed a lawsuit against opposition activist Gaby Arellano over charges of conspiracy, the Public Minister reported over the weekend.

Arellano, a member of the Popular Will party, was linked to the destabilization plan against the government of Nicolas Maduro last February, according to attorney Katherine Harington.

Judicial authorities explained that Arellano had also met several times with the political advisor of the U.S. embassy in 2014, after the February demonstrations that called for the “exit” of democratically elected President Nicolas Maduro.

The crime of conspiracy, under Article 132 of the Criminal Code, carries a prison-sentence of at least eight years.

A key opposition leader of the right-wing opposition in the country, Maria Corina Machado, is also under investigation for conspiracy.

A wave of right-wing political violence in 2014 left 43 people dead. The overwhelming majority were killed by clashes at deliberately lethal opposition barricades and as a result of opposition violence, with hundreds also injured and billions of damage caused to public property, according to official estimates.