Los vs. Les for people

Question

Rafa y Luis son simpáticos. Quiero invitarlos a mi fiesta.Rafa and Luis are nice. I want to invite them to my party.

Rafa y Luis son simpáticos. Los quiero invitar a mi fiesta.Rafa and Luis are nice. I want to invite them to my party.Why is "los" used in this case?   Should'nt it be "les"  ?Thank you.

Accepted Answer

Hola Kaly
When we use "invitar a alguien" (to invite someone), the "someone" is a direct object, so when we say "invite them", that them is a direct object pronoun, i.e. "los". "Les" is the indirect object pronoun. Having said this, bear in mind you may see sometimes "les" used as a direct object pronoun" but this is considered incorrect. This is called "leísmo". You can read about this in this Kwiziq article.
I hope it helps.
Saludos cordiales
Inma