Associates of Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said she had been arrested on Thursday, followed by an official denial, in a confusing episode that ended a day of protests they had tried to block President Nicolás Maduro from clinging to power.
It is not clear what exactly happened after Machado said goodbye to hundreds of fans, got on her motorcycle and sped with her security convoy through the empty streets of eastern Caracas to an unknown location.
At 15:21 local time, Machado’s press team said in a social media post that security forces “forcefully intercepted” her convoy. Her aides later confirmed The Associated Press that the opposition hardliner was arrested, and international condemnation immediately poured in 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 she left the rally and her purse fell out. “I’m fine, I’m sure,” Machado said in a husky 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 released after recording. They said they would reveal the details of their “kidnapping” later.
Maduro’s supporters, meanwhile, denied she had been arrested and gloated that government opponents were trying to spread fake news to spark an international crisis. “Nobody should be surprised,” Communications Minister Freddy Nanez said. “Especially because it comes from the fascists, who were the architects of the dirty trick.”
Earlier on Thursday, Machado addressed hundreds of supporters who heeded her call to take to the streets a day before the ruling party’s National Assembly was due to swear in Maduro for a third six-year term despite credible evidence that he had lost the presidential election.
“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 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 the exodus of some 7 million Venezuelans who have left their homeland in recent years.
Loyalists who control the country’s judiciary barred her from running against Maduro last year. In a deft move, she backed an unknown outsider — retired diplomat Edmundo González — who ousted Maduro by more than two to one, according to voting machine records collected by the opposition and confirmed by international observers.
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado addresses supporters at a protest against President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, a day before his inauguration for a third term. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
González, invoking the title of president-elect recognized by the US and other countries, was among those demanding Machado’s release immediately after what was believed to be a shocking arrest.
“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 Abinader and a delegation of former presidents from across the country. Latin America.
Thursday’s protests saw a relatively small turnout as riot police were deployed in force. Venezuelans who have witnessed Maduro’s security forces round up scores of opponents and regulars since the July election have been reluctant to mobilize in the same numbers as in the past.
“Of course, there are fewer people,” said empanada vendor Miguel Contrera as National Guard soldiers with riot shields whizzed by on motorcycles. – There is fear.
Those protesters who did show up blocked the main avenue in one opposition stronghold. Many were senior citizens and dressed in red, yellow and blue, responding to Machado’s call to wear the colors of the Venezuelan flag. All rejected Maduro and said they would recognize González as the legitimate president of Venezuela.
The deployment of security forces as well as pro-government armed groups known as “colectivos” to intimidate opponents betrays Maduro’s deep insecurity, 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 — it says were plotting to topple Maduro and sow chaos in the oil-rich South American nation. Just this week, masked gunmen arrested a former presidential candidate, a prominent free speech activist and even González’s son-in-law as he took his young children to school.
“It’s an impressive show of force, but it’s also a sign of weakness,” said Corrales, who co-authored this month’s article “How Maduro Stole Venezuela’s Votes” in the Journal of Democracy.
“Maduro is safe in office,” Corrales said, “but he and his allies admit that they are moving forward with a big lie and have no other way to justify what they are doing than by relying on the military.”
Venezuela’s National Electoral Council, also packed with government loyalists, declared Maduro the winner of the election. However, unlike previous contests, the authorities did not provide access to voting records or results at the polling station level.
The opposition, however, collected vote lists from 85% of the electronic voting machines and published them online. They showed that their candidate, González, beat Maduro by more than two to one. Experts from the United Nations and the Atlanta-based Carter Center, invited by Maduro’s government to observe the election, said the tables released by the opposition were legitimate.
The US and other governments have also recognized González as the newly elected president of Venezuela. Even many of Maduro’s former leftist allies in Latin America plan to skip Friday’s swearing-in ceremony.
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President Joe Biden, who met with 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 rightful winner of their presidential election,” Biden said after the meeting.
