Aides to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said she was detained Thursday, followed moments later by official denials, in a confusing episode that capped a day of protests that sought to President Nicolas Maduro of clinging to power.
It is not clear exactly what happened after Machado said goodbye to hundreds of supporters, hopped on a motorcycle and raced 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 “forcibly intercepted” her convoy. Her aides later confirmed this The Associated Press that the opposition hardliner had been arrested, and international condemnation immediately poured out from leaders in Latin America and beyond demanding her release.
But about an hour later, a 20-second video of Machado was posted online by a Maduro supporter, in which the opposition leader said she was followed after leaving the rally and that she had dropped her bag. “I’m fine, I’m safe,” Machado said in a hoarse voice, adding, “Venezuela will be free.”
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Her aides later said in a social media post that the proof-of-life video message was coerced and she was released after recording it. They said she would provide details of her “kidnapping” later.
Meanwhile, Maduro supporters denied she was being held and rejoiced that government opponents were trying to spread fake news to cause an international crisis. “No one should be surprised,” said Communications Minister Freddy Nanez. “Especially because it comes from the fascists, who were the architects of this dirty trick.”
Earlier Thursday, Machado addressed hundreds of supporters who heeded her call to take to the streets, a day before the ruling party-controlled National Assembly was set to swear in Maduro for a third six-year term despite credible evidence that he had won the presidential election lost.
“They wanted us to fight each other, but Venezuela is united, we are not afraid,” Machado shouted from a truck in the capital, minutes before she was arrested.
Machado, 57, is a former lawmaker who stayed and fought against Maduro even after many of her allies in the opposition leadership fled. She joined an exodus of some seven million Venezuelans who have left their home country in recent years.
Loyalists who control the country’s judiciary banned her from acting against Maduro last year. In a deft move, 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 data collected by the opposition and validated by international observers.
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado addresses supporters during a protest against President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, January 9, 2025, the day before his inauguration for a third term. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
González, who invoked the title of president-elect recognized by the US and other countries, was among those demanding Machado’s release in the immediate aftermath of what is believed to have been her shock arrest.
“To the security forces, I warn: do not play with fire,” he said in a social media post from the Dominican Republic, where he met with President Luis Abinader and a delegation of former presidents from around the world. Latin America.
There was a relatively small turnout for Thursday’s protests as riot police were deployed with force. Venezuelans who have witnessed Maduro’s security forces’ roundups since July’s elections have been reluctant to mobilize in the same numbers as in the past.
“Of course there are fewer people,” said empanada seller Miguel Contrera as National Guard soldiers carrying riot shields zoomed by on motorcycles. “There is fear.”
The protesters who did show up blocked a main street in an opposition stronghold. Many were seniors and dressed in red, yellow and blue, heeding Machado’s call to wear the colors of the Venezuelan flag. All rejected Maduro and said they would recognize González as Venezuela’s legitimate president.
The use of security forces and pro-government armed groups, known as “colectivos,” to intimidate opponents reveals a deep insecurity on Maduro’s part, said Javier Corrales, a Latin America expert at Amherst College.
Since the election, the government has arrested more than 2,000 people — including as many as 10 Americans and other foreigners — who it said were plotting 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 González’s son-in-law as he walked his young children to school.
“It’s an impressive show of power, but also a sign of weakness,” said Corrales, who co-authored an article “How Maduro Stole Venezuela’s Vote” this month in the Journal of Democracy.
“Maduro is safely in office,” Corrales said, “but he and his allies recognize that they are making progress on a big lie and that they have no way to justify what they are doing except by relying on the military.”
Venezuela’s National Electoral Council, also packed with government loyalists, declared Maduro the winner of the election. But unlike previous elections, authorities did not provide access to voting data or results at the district level.
However, the opposition collected voting forms from 85% of electronic voting machines and posted them online. They showed that his candidate, González, had defeated 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 observe the election, have said the counting tallies published by the opposition are legitimate.
The US and other governments have also recognized González as Venezuela’s president-elect. 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, who met González at the White House this week, praised the previously unknown retired diplomat for “inspiring millions.”
“The people of Venezuela deserve a peaceful transfer of power to the real winner of their presidential election,” Biden said after the meeting.
