Aides to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said she was arrested on Thursday, followed by an official denial moments later, in a confusing incident that capped a day of protests seeking to prevent… President Nicolas Maduro Of clinging to power.
It's not clear exactly what happened after Machado bid farewell to hundreds of supporters, hopped on a motorcycle and rode off with her security convoy through the empty streets of eastern Caracas to an undisclosed location.
At 3:21 p.m. local time, Machado's press team said in a social media post that security forces “violently intercepted” her convoy. Her aides later confirmed that Associated Press The hard-line opposition was detained, and international condemnation immediately poured in from Latin American leaders and beyond demanding 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 after leaving the rally and that she dropped her bag. “I'm fine, I'm safe,” Machado said in a raspy voice, adding, “Venezuela will be free.”
Thousands of Venezuelan opposition supporters take to the streets ahead of Maduro III's inauguration
Her aides later said in a social media post that the proof-of-life video message was coerced, and that she was released after it was recorded. They said she would provide details of her “kidnapping” later.
Meanwhile, Maduro's supporters denied her detention and gloated that government opponents were trying to spread fake news to spark an international crisis. “No one should be surprised,” Communications Minister Freddy Nanez said. “Especially coming from the fascists, who were the architects of the dirty trick.”
Earlier on Thursday, Machado addressed hundreds of supporters who responded to her call to take to the streets a day before the National Assembly controlled by the ruling party swore in Maduro for a third six-year term despite credible evidence that he lost the presidential election.
“They wanted us to fight each other, but Venezuela is united, and we are not afraid,” Machado shouted from the top of a truck in the capital minutes before her arrest was reported.
Machado, 57, is a hardline former lawmaker who stayed and fought against Maduro even after many of her allies in the opposition leadership fled, joining an exodus of some 7 million Venezuelans who have left their homeland in recent years.
Loyalists who control the country's judiciary prevented her from running against Maduro last year. In a deft move, she backed a little-known outsider — retired diplomat Edmundo Gonzalez — who crushed Maduro by a margin of more than two to one, according to voting machine records compiled by the opposition and verified by international observers.
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado addresses supporters at a protest against President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, January 9, 2025, the day before he is inaugurated for a third term. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubellos)
Gonzalez, who cited the title of president-elect recognized by the United States and other countries, was among those calling for Machado's release in the wake of what is believed to be her 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 Louis Abi Nader and a delegation of former presidents from around the world. latin america.
Participation was relatively small in Thursday's protests as riot police were deployed in force. Venezuelans, who have witnessed Maduro's security forces arrest dozens of opponents and regular bystanders since the July election, have been reluctant to mobilize in the same numbers as they have in the past.
“Of course, there are fewer people,” Miguel Contera, a pie vendor, said as National Guard soldiers carrying riot shields on motorcycles passed by. “There is fear.”
The demonstrators who attended closed a main road in one of the opposition strongholds. Many of them were elderly and dressed in red, yellow and blue in response to Machado's call to wear the colors of the Venezuelan flag. Everyone disavowed Maduro and said they would recognize Gonzalez as the legitimate president of Venezuela.
Javier Corrales, a Latin America expert at Amherst College, said the deployment of security forces as well as pro-government armed groups known as “colectivos” to intimidate opponents betrays a deep insecurity on Maduro's part.
Since the election, the government has arrested more than 2,000 people — including up to 10 Americans and other foreigners — who it claimed were planning to oust 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 brother-in-law as he took his young children to school.
“It's an impressive display of strength but it's also a sign of weakness,” said Corrales, who this month co-wrote an article titled “How Maduro Stole Venezuela’s Vote” in the journal Democracy.
“Maduro is secure in his position, but he and his allies realize that they are moving forward with a big lie and have no other way to justify what they are doing than relying on the army,” Corrales said.
Venezuela's National Electoral Council, filled with government loyalists, declared Maduro the winner of the election. But unlike previous contests, the authorities did not provide any access to voting records or results at the electoral district level.
However, the opposition collected tally sheets from 85% of electronic voting machines and posted them online. They showed that its candidate, González, crushed Maduro by a margin of more than two to one. Experts from the United Nations and the Atlanta-based Carter Center, both invited by Maduro's government to monitor the elections, said the tally lists published 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 leftist allies in Latin America plan not to attend the swearing-in ceremony scheduled for Friday.
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President Joe Biden, who met with Gonzalez at the White House this week, praised the previously little-known retired diplomat for having “inspired millions.”
Biden said after the meeting, “The people of Venezuela deserve a peaceful transfer of power to the real winner of their presidential elections.”
