Popular Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Colina Machado was briefly detained by opponents during an anti-government protest in Caracas on Thursday, according to a statement on X from a political aide. However, she was soon released.
Machado's party reported on X news agency that Machado was “violently blocked as she tried to leave the rally” and that “regime forces shot at the motorcycle she was transporting.”
The country's dictator Nicolas Maduro is set to be sworn in for a third term as president on Friday.
Machado has been living in hiding in Venezuela amid threats of arrest from government officials, and this was his first public appearance since August. She had called for rallies in cities across the country and around the world to protest Maduro's inauguration.
Thousands of people gathered in support of Machado at an event in Caracas on Thursday, all risking government detention. There, an opposition leader stood on top of a truck and his supporters chanted “Freedom!” Freedom! Freedom! “
In X, political aide Magali Meda said Machado was leaving a rally when he was hit by a motorbike.
“A gun went off at the event,” Meda said. “They took her away by force.”
During her brief detention, “she was forced to film several videos, but was later released,” she added. “She herself will address the nation in the next few hours and explain what happened.”
Machado's representatives did not say who detained her. The event is heavily attended by government security forces, who are often supported by members of armed groups known as colectivos.
Venezuela's Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said in a television interview that the capture was a “lie” and accused rebels of fabricating it to get attention.
Rebel groups, the United States and others say Mr. Maduro stole the recent election and that the real winner is Edmundo González, a former diplomat backed by Mr. Machado.
Mr. González has been living in exile since September.
“This unit that we have built and that has grown every day has prepared us for this final stage,” Machado told his followers before he was taken into custody.
Regarding Maduro's inauguration, she said, “Whatever they do tomorrow, they just buried themselves!”
About 2,000 people have been detained in Venezuela since the July 28 election, including most recently Mr. Gonzalez's son-in-law, Rafael Tudares, and director of the prominent nonprofit Espacio Public. This includes a certain Carlos Correa. .
