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Maria Corina Machado A Venezuelan opposition leader was captured in Caracas shortly after his release from prison, it said on Monday.
Machado wrote in a post on X that a key aide, Juan Pablo Guanipa, had been kidnapped by heavily armed men in civilian clothes in the Los Chorros area of the capital.
“We demand his immediate release,” he said.
Alfredo Romero, President of Venezuelan human rights The group Foro Penal said 35 political prisoners were released on Sunday, including Guanipa, who was initially arrested in May.
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Opposition leaders Maria Corina Machado and Juan Pablo Guanipa participate in an anti-government protest in Caracas, Venezuela, on January 9, 2025. (Alfredo Lassari r/Getty Images)
Reuters reported that Venezuelan authorities were seeking court approval to place Guanipa under house arrest.
The country’s Public Ministry alleged that he violated the conditions of his release, but provided no additional details and did not say whether he had been rearrested.
Guanipa’s Primero Justicia party said on X that he was forced into a silver Toyota Corolla during the incident.
Juan Pablo Guanipa, opposition leader and recently released from prison, meets with relatives of political prisoners near the El Helicoide detention center in Caracas on February 8, 2026. (Image Alliance via Jesus Vargas/Getty Images)
“We catch delsey rodriguez“Jorge Rodriguez and Diosdado Cabello are responsible for any damage caused to the life of Juan Pablo,” the party wrote. We call on the international community to demand the immediate release of Juan Pablo Guanipa and an immediate and unconditional end to the persecution of the opposition.
The US State Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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Rodriguez has been serving as interim president of Venezuela since the US occupation. Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores earlier this year.
Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez speaks during the presentation of the 2025 budget bill at the National Assembly in Caracas on December 3, 2024. (Juan Barreto/AFP via Getty Images)
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In late January, President Donald Trump said Venezuela was “rapidly” releasing political prisoners, praising the move as a “powerful humanitarian gesture” by the country’s leadership.
According to Foro Penal, an estimated 687 political prisoners remain in custody in Venezuela as of 2 February.
