Story highlights Leopoldo Lopez appears on video to dispel health rumors

He has become the face of the opposition in Venezuela

(CNN) Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez has a message from prison: he is alive and well.

Lopez appeared on video to dispel health rumors after a local journalist tweeted Wednesday night that he had been transported from a prison outside Caracas -- where he's been detained since 2014 -- to the hospital.

US Sen. Marco Rubio tweeted he had confirmed Lopez was hospitalized in "very serious condition," adding to the frenzy on social media.

In a flurry of tweets, Lopez's wife, Lilian Tintori, said she was rushing to the hospital to get information on her husband. Video footage later showed her outside the hospital gates, tearfully asking if her husband was there. She later tweeted she was told he was not at the hospital.

Shortly after, Lopez appeared on state television in a white tank top with prison bars behind him.