Human rights
Following the arrest of her husband during the 2014 Venezuelan protests, Tintori became a face of Venezuela's opposition movement. On 14 June 2017, Tintori was awarded the 2017 Palabra Prize. 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." She traveled internationally to meet with individuals such as then 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.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro sees Tintori as a threat and has called for her work to be "neutralized" and described her as a "terrorist". According to Tintori, Venezuelan authorities often follow her and intimidate her daily. 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.
On 29 August 2017, the forensic 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. Tintori and two vice presidents 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. On 2 September 2017, she was prevented from leaving for Europe, prompting French President Emmanuel Macron to tweet his support.
