Venezuela’s Machado says close ally kidnapped by ‘heavily armed’ men hours after prison release | Venezuela
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado said Monday that one of her closest allies was kidnapped hours after she was released from prison.
The government released many prominent opposition members from prison on Sunday after long politically motivated detentions.
Machado he said on social media It was stated that Juan Pablo Guanipa was kidnapped around midnight in one of the residential areas of the capital Caracas.
“Heavily armed men in civilian clothes arrived in four vehicles and took him away using violence,” he said in X. “We demand his immediate release.”
Former governor Guanipa told reporters hours after his release: “I believe that our country has completely changed. I believe that it is now the duty of all of us to focus on building a free and democratic country.”
Guanipa had been detained for more than eight months.
Alfredo Romero, president of Venezuela-based prisoner rights group Foro Penal, expressed serious concerns about Guanipa’s disappearance. In his statement to X, he said, “So far we do not have clear information about who took him.” “We hope for his release as soon as possible.”
Foro Criminal confirmed that at least 30 people were released on Sunday.
The release of the opposition figures comes as the government of acting president Delcy Rodríguez faces mounting pressure to release hundreds of people detained months or years ago in connection with their political activities. The statements also followed the visit of representatives of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to Venezuela.
The government’s press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment early Monday.
Rodríguez was sworn in as Venezuela’s acting president on January 3 following the capture of then-President Nicolás Maduro by the US military. His government began releasing prisoners days later.
Some of those released Sunday joined families outside prisons waiting for their loved ones to be released. “We are not afraid! We are not afraid!” They shouted slogans. and walked a short distance.
Machado’s political organization said that in addition to Guanipa, several of its members were among those released; among them was María Oropeza, who livestreamed her arrest by military intelligence officers who broke into her home with a crowbar. Machado’s attorney, Perkins Rocha, was also released.
Guanipa’s son, Ramón, said on social media that his father was “captured and kidnapped” by “an unidentified group of about 10 people.” He also described the three vehicles involved in the situation.
“We demand immediate proof of his survival and his release,” Ramón Guanipa wrote to X.
Guanipa was detained in May last year and accused by interior minister Diosdado Cabello of participating in a so-called “terrorist group” that planned to boycott legislative elections that month. Guanipa’s brother Tomás denied the accusation and said the arrest was intended to suppress opposition.
Tomás Guanipa said after his arrest: “To think differently is not considered a crime in Venezuela, and today Juan Pablo Guanipa is a prisoner of conscience of this regime.”
Rodríguez’s government announced on January 8 that a significant number of prisoners would be released – a key demand of the country’s opposition and human rights organizations, with US support – but families and human rights observers criticized authorities for the slow pace of releases.
