AP PHOTO Opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez holds a Venezuelan national flag as he greets supporters outside his home in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday.

CARACAS, Venezuela — Opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez was released from prison and placed under house arrest Saturday after more than three years in a military lockup, a shock reversal by the government that fueled hopes for a broader amnesty for dozens of jailed activists in a country sliding ever deeper into political turmoil.

A euphoric Lopez briefly greeted a few dozen supporters gathered outside his home in Caracas in the afternoon.

Lopez vowed that he is prepared to return to jail rather than give up his fight to remove socialist President Nicolas Maduro.