According to her aides, the Venezuela opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was arrested after security forces opened fire on her motorcycle convoy while it left a demonstration against the government of Caracas.
Machado, who had been hiding for months, returned to the spotlight on Thursday. Machado was desperate to end Nicolas Maduro’s hold on power.
Machado’s press team announced on social media that security forces had “violently” intercepted the convoy as it left the eastern part of Caracas.
Machado shouted from atop a truck at some hundred demonstrators in the Capital, “Venezuela’s united.” We are not scared. “
Maduro’s administration has yet to comment on the situation. Latin American leaders and government called for her immediate release.
Machado, 57, is a former hardliner politician. She remained to fight for Maduro even after her closest allies had left. They were part of an exodus in which 7 million Venezuelans have fled their homeland in the last few years.
Last year, loyalists in the justice system of Venezuela banned her from running against Maduro. Instead, she backed an outsider, retired ambassador Edmundo Gonzalez. He defeated Maduro by a margin greater than 2 to 1, according to the opposition. According to voting records collected by the opposition and verified, this was the case.
Gonzalez, invoking the title of “president-elect”, recognized by the U.S. and other countries demanded that Machado’s exile be ended.
He wrote: “To the security forces, I warn you not to play with fire” in a social media post from the Dominican Republic, where he met with President Luis Abinader and a delegation made up of former Latin American presidents.
In a Truth Social post, Donald Trump, U.S. President-elect, said: “Venezuelan Democracy activists Maria Corina Machado and President-elect Gonzalez peacefully expressed the voices & WILL of Venezuelan People as hundreds of thousands demonstrated against the regime.
“The Venezuelan American Community strongly supported my campaign to free Venezuela The freedom fighters MUST NOT be injured and MUST STAY SAFE AND ALIVE!”
Machado protested just one day before Maduro was set to be sworn in for a third term of six years by the National Assembly. The National Assembly is controlled by the ruling party, despite evidence that shows he won the election.
On Thursday, the protests were low-key as the riot squad was in full force. Venezuelans were reluctant to mobilize the same number of people as they had in the past, after seeing Maduro’s security forces rounding up opponents and bystanders since the July election.
Miguel Contrera, an empanada vendor in the vicinity of National Guard soldiers riding motorcycles with riot shields said: “Of course, there are fewer people.” “There’s fear. “
The few protesters who showed up blocked an important road in a stronghold for the opposition. Most of those in attendance were senior citizens dressed in red, yellow, and blue, the colors of the Venezuelan flag. They all said they would recognize Gonzalez as Venezuela’s legitimate president, and reject Maduro.
Javier Corrales, a Latin American expert at Amherst College, is an expert in Latin America. He claimed that Maduro’s insecurity is revealed by the use of government-backed armed groups known as colectivos to intimidate his political opponents.
The government detained over 2,000 people since the election. This includes 10 Americans and foreigners. They are accused of plotting to topple Maduro, which would create chaos in the oil-rich South American country. Gunmen wearing masks arrested several people, including Gonzalez’s son-in-law, who was walking to school with his children.
Corrales said, “It’s an impressive display of strength but it also shows a weakness.” This month, he co-authored a piece in the Journal of Democracy entitled “How Maduro Stole Venezuela’s Vote”.
Corrales claimed that “Maduro is safe in office”, yet he and his supporters are well aware of the lie they are telling and have no other way to justify it than by turning to the military.
Venezuela’s National Electoral Council, which is stacked with government supporters, declared Maduro the winner of the election. Unlike previous elections, the authorities did not permit access to voting records or the results at the precinct level.
The sheets showed Gonzalez having defeated Maduro by a margin greater than 2 to 1. Both the United Nations and Atlanta’s Carter Center were invited by Maduro to observe the election. They both said the tally sheet released by the Opposition was legitimate.
Gonzalez has been recognized as Venezuela’s president-elect by the United States, Latin America, and other countries. Maduro’s former leftist allies in Latin America are not expected to attend the ceremony on Friday.
When Joe Biden met Gonzalez at the White House this week, he praised his “inspiring of millions”.
Biden said that the people of Venezuela “deserve a peaceful transfer of power” from the current President of Venezuela following the meeting.