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Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was detained on Thursday, her aides said, but officials later denied it, a confusing incident that capped a day of protests. President Nicolás Maduro Get rid of your attachment to power.
It was unclear exactly what happened after Machado said goodbye to hundreds of supporters, hopped on a motorcycle and traveled with her security convoy through the empty streets of eastern Caracas to an undisclosed location.
At 3:21 pm local time, Machado’s news team posted on social media that security forces “violently intercepted” her convoy. Her aides later confirmed Associated Press Opposition hardliners were detained, and leaders in Latin America and elsewhere immediately condemned the international community and called for her release.
But about an hour later, a Maduro supporter posted a 20-second video of Machado online in which the opposition leader said she was followed and had her wallet dropped after leaving the rally. . “I’m fine, I’m safe,” Machado said in a gravelly voice, adding “Venezuela will be free.”
Her aides later said in social media posts that the proof-of-life video message was coerced and she was released after the recording. They said she would later provide details of the “kidnapping.”
Maduro’s supporters, meanwhile, deny she has been detained and gloat over attempts by government opponents to spread false news to create an international crisis. “No one should be surprised,” Communications Minister Freddie Nannes said. “Especially because it comes from fascists, who are the masterminds of dirty tricks.”
Earlier on Thursday, Machado addressed hundreds of supporters who heeded her call to take to the streets a day before the ruling party-controlled National Assembly plans to swear in Maduro for a third six-year term. , despite credible evidence that he lost the presidential election.
“They want us to fight each other, but Venezuela is united and we are not afraid,” Machado shouted from a truck in the capital, minutes before she was reportedly detained.
Machado, 57, a hardline former lawmaker, has stayed with the country even as many of her allies in the opposition leadership have fled Maduro, joining some 7 million Venezuelans who have fled their homes in recent years. Maduro fights.
Loyalists who control the country’s judiciary banned her from running against Maduro last year. She deftly backed an unknown outsider — retired diplomat Edmundo Gonzalez — who won by more than two to one, according to voting machine records collected by the opposition and verified by international observers. Defeated Maduro.
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Colina Machado holds a rally against President Nicolás Maduro during a rally against President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, January 9, 2025, one day before he is to be inaugurated for a third term. Maduro speaks to supporters at a protest. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Gonzalez, citing the title of president-elect recognized by the United States and other countries, was among those calling for Machado’s immediate release after what was believed to be a surprise arrest.
“To the security forces I warn you: do not play with fire,” he said in a social media post from the Dominican Republic, where he met with President Luis Abinadel and a delegation of former presidents from across the country Latin America.
Thursday’s protest was relatively sparsely attended due to the deployment of armed riot police. Venezuelans who have watched Maduro security forces round up dozens of opponents and ordinary bystanders since the July election are reluctant to mobilize the same numbers as in the past.
“Of course, there are fewer people,” empanada vendor Miguel Contrera said as National Guard troops carrying riot shields roared by on motorcycles. “There is fear.”
Those demonstrators who did show up blocked a main road in the opposition stronghold. Many were elderly and dressed in red, yellow and blue, heeding Machado’s call to wear the colors of the Venezuelan flag. All have disowned Maduro and said they would recognize González as Venezuela’s legitimate president.
Javier Corrales, an expert on Latin America at Amherst College, said the deployment of security forces and pro-government armed groups known as “colectivos” to intimidate opponents exposed Maduro’s deepest insecurities.
Since the election, the government has arrested more than 2,000 people, including up to 10 Americans and other foreigners, claiming they had been plotting to overthrow Maduro and sow chaos in the oil-rich South American country. This week alone, masked gunmen arrested a former presidential candidate, a prominent free speech activist and even Gonzalez’s son-in-law, who was taking his children to school.
“It was an impressive show of force, but it was also a sign of weakness,” said Corrales, who co-authored an article this month in the Journal of Democracy, “How Maduro Stole Venezuela.” votes”.
“Maduro is safe in office, but he and his allies realize they are telling a big lie and have no way to justify what they are doing other than relying on the military,” Corrales said. “
Venezuela’s National Electoral Council, also made up of government loyalists, declared Maduro the winner. But unlike in previous contests, authorities did not provide access to any voting records or precinct-level results.
However, the opposition collected vote tallies from 85% of electronic voting machines and posted them online. They showed that its candidate, González, beat Maduro by more than two to one. Experts from the United Nations and the Carter Center in Atlanta, who were invited by the Maduro government to observe the election, said the vote tallies released by the opposition were legitimate.
The United States and other governments also recognized Gonzalez as the elected president of Venezuela. Even many of Maduro’s former left-wing allies in Latin America plan to skip Friday’s swearing-in ceremony.
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President Joe Biden met with Gonzalez at the White House this week, praising the previously unknown retired diplomat for “inspiring millions.”
“The Venezuelan people deserve a peaceful transfer of power to the true winner of the presidential election,” Biden said after the meeting.
