Leader of the Venezuelan opposition had been arrested after leading a protest today against the inauguration of President Nicolás Maduro, which takes place this Friday (10)
The political team of the Venezuelan opposition leader reported, this Thursday (9), that she was “released” after being “forcibly detained” at the end of a demonstration in Caracas. “Leaving the concentration in Chacao, Caracas, María Corina Machado was intercepted and knocked off the motorcycle she was traveling on. During the incident, firearms were detonated. During the period of her kidnapping, she was forced to record several videos and was then released,” reported a publication on the X network.
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she had been arrested after leading a protest today against the president’s inauguration, which takes place this Friday (10). On top of a vehicle, dressed in white and with a Venezuelan flag, Corina Machado, 57, reappeared in public this Thursday for the first time since August 28, a month after the elections that the opposition claims Maduro “stole.” ” from its candidate Edmundo González Urrutia.
A source close to the leader reported the arrest to AFP, shortly after she left on a motorcycle a demonstration in the Chacao neighborhood, in Caracas, which brought together hundreds of opponents. Minutes before her capture, her political team reported on the social network X that Corina Machado “was violently intercepted when leaving the concentration”. The message reports that officers “shot at the motorcycles” that were transporting them, without giving further details.
“If something happens to me, the instructions are quite clear […] no one will trade Venezuela’s freedom for my freedom,” she said earlier this week in an interview with AFP. González Urrutia demanded her “immediate release”, in a post on the social network X. “A warning to the security bodies that kidnapped her: do not play with fire”, he added. The Spanish government, in turn, expressed “total condemnation” of the arrest.
‘Venezuela took to the streets’
During the demonstration, Corina Machado stated that “today all of Venezuela took to the streets” and sang the national anthem with the protesters. “We are not afraid!”, he repeated, in chorus with those present. “We got here because we had a robust strategy,” he continued. “From now on, we are in a new phase. Venezuela is free, let’s continue.”
Chavistas also called for a parallel rally to support Maduro, who on Friday will assume his controversial third consecutive six-year term, amid a new wave of arrests of opponents and civil society leaders that has drawn international condemnation.
The presidential inauguration ceremony is scheduled for Friday in the Chavismo-controlled Parliament. González, who sought asylum in Spain on September 8 after being served with an arrest warrant, has declared that he wants to return to Venezuela to take power. “We will see you very soon in Caracas, in freedom”, promised González at an event in the Dominican Republic, the last stop on a tour that previously took him to Argentina, Uruguay, the United States and Panama.
His next destination is uncertain: González wants to fly to Venezuela and take power, but the plan seems unlikely. Venezuelan authorities — who are offering 100,000 dollars (R$613,000) for his capture — have already warned that, if he disembarks in the country, “he will be arrested immediately” and his international companions treated as “invaders”.
‘I will leave my skin!’
The streets of Caracas dawned on heavily armed security personnel. Dozens of police and intelligence agents were deployed at opposition meeting points, where Chavistas also set up pompous platforms with loud music. The government, which frequently denounces plans by the United States and Colombia to overthrow Maduro, yesterday announced the capture of two Americans — “a high-ranking FBI official” and “a high-ranking military official” — whom it linked to a coup of State, which Washington denies.
The public presence at opposition demonstrations increased as the hours passed, but it was not even compared to the major events of the electoral campaign: there has been fear since the brutal repression of demonstrations that broke out after the proclamation of Maduro’s victory in July, which was 28 deaths, almost 200 injured and more than 2,400 detained.
Thousands marched across the country. Opponents and Chavistas replicated concentrations in other cities such as Ciudad Guayana, San Cristóbal and Maracaibo. The Chavista march left from the huge Petare favela complex, with those present displaying posters and flags.
*With information from AFP
Posted by Carolina Ferreira
