the opponent Maria Corina Machado arrested then released according to her supporters, the government denies

The opposition assures that Maria Corina Machado was arrested Thursday after participating in a demonstration against the inauguration of President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, before being released a little later. The government denies this arrest.

The leader of the Venezuelan opposition, Maria Corina Machado, whose team announced the arrest after the demonstration against the inauguration of President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, Thursday January 9, was “liberated” after having been “taken by force”, according to his team. The government denies this version and denounces “lie”. The opponent’s team assures on “will address the country in the coming hours to explain the facts”.

This was Maria Corina Machado’s first public appearance since the end of August. An opposition source told AFP that the leader was arrested while leaving the demonstration. The opponent Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who claims victory in the presidential election, demanded from Santo Domingo the “immediate release” by Maria Corina Machado.

The opponent’s team announced on “violently intercepted when leaving the demonstration” by motorbike. According to this message, shots were fired at the procession of motorcycles which accompanied him. She had considered a possible arrest, confiding to AFP on Monday: “If something happens to me, the instructions are very clear (…), no one will negotiate the freedom of Venezuela for my freedom.” She also assured that she did not want “to miss (the) historic day for nothing in the world” of the demonstration.

During the last major demonstrations in August, Maria Corina Machado, 57, suddenly appeared on a street corner to climb onto a podium truck, harangued the crowd then quickly disappeared on a motorbike to escape arrest. On Thursday, she once again arrived in a truck dressed in white and brandishing a Venezuelan flag and gave a short speech in which she said: “All of Venezuela is in the streets, we are not afraid! From today we are entering a new phase. Venezuela is free, we will continue!”

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, with more than 67% of the votes, against outgoing President Nicolas Maduro, at the head of the country. since 2013.

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. The CNE’s announcement provoked demonstrations throughout the country, which were harshly repressed. The post-election unrest resulted in 28 deaths, more than 200 injured, and 2,400 people arrested for “terrorism”.