According to his collaborators, President Nicolas Maduro’s forces “violently intercepted” her.
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado is free and “safe”, this epilogue comes after protests she led to prevent President Nicolás Maduro from clinging to power.
In a post on his official X account, formerly Twitter, Machado said: “I am now in a safe place and more determined than ever to continue with you UNTIL THE END !”
Aides to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado said she was arrested Thursday moments after bidding farewell to supporters, hopping on a motorcycle and racing down a major avenue in the capital, Caracas, with his security convoy.
At 3:21 p.m. local time, Ms. Machado’s press team said in a social media post that Mr. Maduro’s forces had “violently intercepted” her convoy. She later told The Associated Press that Ms. Machado had been arrested. International condemnation poured in from leaders in Latin America and beyond, who demanded his immediate release.
About an hour after her arrest, a 20-second video of Ms. Machado surfaced online in which she said she was followed after leaving the “wonderful gathering” and dropping her purse.
Her aides later said the video message was obtained under duress and that she was released after recording it.
Ms Machado said she would explain in more detail the events that unfolded on Friday.
Meanwhile, Mr Maduro’s supporters denied Mr Machado had been detained and accused the opposition of trying to spread fake news to provoke an international crisis.
“No one should be surprised “, declared the Minister of Communications, Freddy Nanez. ” Especially since it comes from the fascists, who were the architects of this dirty trick.” He added.
On Thursday, Ms. 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, swears in Mr. Maduro for a third consecutive six-year term, despite credible evidence that he lost the July 28 presidential election.
“They wanted us to fight against each other, but Venezuela is united, we are not afraid” Ms. Machado shouted from the top of a truck in the capital, minutes before her arrest was reported.
Ms. Machado, 57, is a hard-line activist and former lawmaker who stayed and fought against Mr. Maduro even after many of his allies among the opposition leaders took the path of exile in the face of repression, joining the exodus of more than 7.7 million Venezuelans who have abandoned their homeland since 2013.
Maduro loyalists then banned him from running in the elections. At the last minute, she backed an unknown outsider, retired diplomat Edmundo González, who crushed Maduro by a margin of more than two to one, according to voting machine records collected by the opposition and validated by observers international.
Mr. González, who had demanded his immediate release upon the announcement of his detention, has since declared that ” the fact that María Corina is free does not minimize what happened, she was kidnapped in violent conditions“.
The President-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, also spoke on the subject. In a post on his own social media platform, Truth Social, he stated that “these freedom fighters should not be harmed and they should remain safe and alivee “.
ADVERTISEMENTMr. González, who is recognized as president-elect by many Western countries, including the United States, has toured several countries to drum up support for the opposition’s initiative to impeach Mr. Maduro.
He traveled to the United States, where he met with US President Joe Biden and House Representative Michael Waltz, Mr. Trump’s designated national security adviser. He also visited Panama and the Dominican Republic.
Mr. González has been living in Spain in self-imposed exile since early September, having fled Venezuela following a month in hiding as Mr. Maduro’s forces suppressed dissent.
He affirms that he will continue to fight against this injustice, alongside his political partner, Maria Machado, until the legitimate will of the Venezuelan people is respected and the Chavista leader is dethroned.
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