In Venezuela, the leader of the opposition “arrested” then “released” after a demonstration against the president, Nicolas Maduro; the government denies

Imbroglio surrounding the arrest of the leader of the Venezuelan opposition. Maria Corina Machado, whose team announced on Thursday, January 9, the arrest after the anti-Maduro demonstration in Caracas, was “liberated” after having been “taken by force”, according to his team. A version denied by the government, which speaks of ” lie “ and denies having arrested her.

“Maria Corina Machado was intercepted and knocked off the motorcycle she was riding. (…) She was taken away by force. During her kidnapping, she was forced to record several videos and was later released.writes her team on X, specifying that she “will address the country to explain the facts”. The Minister of the Interior, Diosdado Cabello, spoke to him about a “invention, a lie”.

An opposition source earlier told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that the leader was arrested while leaving the demonstration. A few minutes earlier, her team had announced on X that she had been “violently intercepted when leaving the demonstration” by motorbike. According to the message on X, shots were fired at the procession of motorcycles that 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 for nothing in the world [le] historic day » of the demonstration.

During the last major demonstrations in August, M^me Machado, 57, would suddenly appear on a street corner to climb onto a podium truck, harangue the crowd then quickly disappear on a motorcycle to escape arrest. The police seem to have countered this modus operandi on Thursday.

“We are not afraid”

On Thursday, she once again arrived by 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 enter a new phase. Venezuela is free, we will continue! »

The authorities had massively deployed law enforcement in the country, particularly in the capital. Concluding an international tour in Santo Domingo, the opponent Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who claims victory in the presidential election, called for the “immediate release” by M^me Machado. “We will all see each other very soon in Caracas, in freedom”he said.

The Spanish government expressed its ” worry “ and its “total condemnation” after the brief arrest of M^me Machado. “Facing the news of the detention of Maria Corina Machado, we express our total condemnation and our concern”said the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement, demanding that all opposition leaders in Venezuela be “protected and preserved”.

A walk “for peace” in favor of the president was organized by those in power, bringing together thousands of supporters, like that of the opposition. Waving Venezuelan flags and often wearing red clothes, the supporters of power, including the Minister of the Interior, Diosdado Cabello, left the east of Caracas to reach the city center.

Similar marches took place across the country, according to public television footage. 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 – against “a regime that knows it is beaten” and isolated internationally.

The UN “deeply concerned”

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 injuries, and 2,400 people arrested for “terrorism”.

Security forces have made numerous arrests in recent days: some 150 people, including an alleged official of the FBI (American federal police) and an American soldier, according to Mr. Maduro, who spoke of a ” assault “ funded by the United States.

Washington, which does not recognize Mr. Maduro’s victory, described it as “categorically false” any accusation of participation “to a plot to overthrow Maduro”according to a State Department spokesperson.

The UN said “deeply worried”Thursday, of the detention of political opponents, notably that of Mr. Correa, wrote Volker Türk, the UN high commissioner for human rights. Carlos Correa, director of Espacio Publico, a renowned human rights NGO, Enrique Marquez, a Venezuelan opposition figure, and the son-in-law of Mr. Gonzalez Urrutia are among those arrested.

Exiled in Spain since September, Mr. Gonzalez Urrutia is finishing a tour in the Dominican Republic which notably took him to the White House. He had planned to go to Caracas on Friday to take the oath in place of Mr. Maduro, a project considered « improbable » by observers. The arrest of M^me Machado will undoubtedly lead him to review his plans.

The Venezuelan authorities, who have promised a reward of $100,000 for the arrest of Mr. Gonzalez Urrutia, have threatened with prison those who accompany him, saying that they would react as if they were facing a « force d’invasion ».