Venezuela Opposition Leader Machado Released After Brief Detention, Government Denies Involvement

Summary:

• Machado made first public appearance in months.
• Government says opposition fabricated her arrest.
• Maduro set to be inaugurated on Friday.

CARACAS, Jan 9 (AfrikTimes) – Venezuela opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was released on Thursday, according to her Vente Venezuela movement, shortly after she was detained amid gunfire while leaving a protest in eastern Caracas.

Opposition demonstrations took place throughout the country in an 11th-hour effort to put pressure on President Nicolas Maduro ahead of his third inauguration on Friday.

Machado was detained after making her first public appearance in months, prompting her ally, former presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez, to demand she be freed immediately. Several governments also condemned the incident. During her detention, Machado was forced to record several videos, Vente Venezuela said in a statement on social media, adding it would give further details in the coming hours.

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado greets supporters at a protest ahead of the Friday inauguration of President Nicolas Maduro for his third term, in Caracas, Venezuela January 9, 2025.

“I’m in a safe place now and with more determination than ever,” Machado posted on the X platform after her release, saying she would explain further on Friday what had happened during the course of the protest.

Government officials, including Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, said her arrest was fabricated by the opposition in an attempt to generate support for her movement. “They end with the absurdity of absurdities, lying to say the government had captured Maria Corina,” Cabello said during a ruling party march in Caracas, accusing Machado of filming the videos, which show her sitting on a curb and recounting losing her wallet during her detention.

Both the opposition and the ruling party continue to claim victory in last year’s presidential election.

The country’s electoral authority and top court have declared that Maduro, whose time in office has been marked by a severe economic and social crisis, won the July vote, though they have yet to release detailed election results. The government, which has accused the opposition of fomenting fascist plots against it, has said it will arrest Gonzalez should he return to the country. The government has also detained prominent opposition figures and activists in the lead-up to the inauguration.

From left: Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, and Urrutia’s wife Mercedes Lopez wave during their campaign closing rally in Caracas on July 25, 2024, ahead of Sunday’s presidential election. 

“We have and continue to condemn publicly Maduro and his representatives for attempting to intimidate Venezuela’s democratic opposition,” a White House National Security Council spokesperson said, adding that Gonzalez is the “true winner” of the election.

Machado, 57, had urged protesters to peacefully flood the streets and repeatedly called on members of the police and military, who had guarded polling stations during the election, to back Gonzalez’s victory.