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The Venezuelan opposition denounced Thursday the brief “kidnapping” of its leader María Corina Machado on Thursday at the end of a demonstration against President Nicolás Maduro. The government denied having arrested her, calling it an “invention” and a “lie”.
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January 9, 2025 – 11:45 p.m.
(Keystone-ATS) According to the opposition, “while leaving the rally María Corina Machado was intercepted and knocked off the motorcycle that was transporting her. She was taken away by force. During her kidnapping, she was forced to record several videos and was later released,” her team points out on social media.
“She will address the country to explain the facts in the coming hours,” she adds. A member of his team announced his arrest to AFP before his release.
The authorities immediately denied this version, citing an “invention, a lie”, in the words of the Minister of the Interior. ” They [les opposants, ndlr] wanted to alarm all of Venezuela and they ended up doing the most ridiculous thing possible, lying, saying that the government had captured Maria Corina,” assured Diosdado Cabello.
He then added “as she saw that it was not generating anything, she had to come out with her tail between her legs, recording a video saying that she was fine”.
First appearance since August
An enigmatic video appeared on social networks where we see Ms. Machado saying that she is safe and sound, specifying that she lost her belongings. This video was broadcast and relayed by media close to power, by government spokesperson Freddy Nanez and vice-president Delcy Rodriguez. The opposition, for its part, did not relay it.
The appearance of Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado for the first time in public since the end of August was one of the expected events of the demonstration. She has been living in hiding since July, after President Maduro accused her of being a “criminal” who deserved prison.
To escape arrest during the major mobilizations in August, Ms. Machado, 57, had the habit of suddenly appearing on a street corner to climb on a truck, haranguing the crowd then quickly disappearing on a motorbike.
-On Thursday, she once again arrived by truck and gave a short speech in which she said: “All of Venezuela is in the streets. We are not afraid! From today we enter a new phase. Venezuela is free.” She then left the scene on a motorbike.
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The authorities had massively deployed law enforcement in the country, particularly in the capital.
Ending a tour which took him notably to Washington, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, the opposition candidate who claims presidential victory against Maduro, demanded “as elected president” his “immediate release”, advising ” security forces […] not to play with fire.
The Spanish government, for its part, expressed its “concern” and “total condemnation”. Mr. Gonzalez Urrutia had considered going to Caracas on Friday to take the oath of office in place of Mr. Maduro, a project deemed “unlikely” by observers.
The Venezuelan authorities, who promised a reward of $100,000 for the arrest of Mr. Gonzalez Urrutia, threatened those who accompanied him with prison, saying they would react as if they were facing an “invading force.”
“The only elected president”
“The only elected president in this country is Nicolás Maduro, the people elected him and the people support him,” said Noeli Bolivar, 28, who is participating in the “peace” march in favor of the president. , organized by the government, which like that of the opposition brought together thousands of supporters.
Chanting “Yo juro con Maduro” (I take an oath with Maduro) and brandishing Venezuelan flags, supporters of power, including Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, left eastern Caracas to reach a podium in the center -city where Mr. Cabello gave a short speech giving once again the official version on the events of the day.
The opposition claims the victory of Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia in the presidential election. She assures that the minutes of the polling stations that she collected prove that the former diplomat won the vote hands down – more than 67% of the votes – in the face of “a regime which knows it is beaten” and isolated on the international level.
The National Electoral Council (CNE) proclaimed the outgoing president the winner of the vote with 52% of the votes, but without publishing the minutes, claiming to be the victim of computer hacking. A hypothesis considered implausible by many observers.
