A Venezuelan opposition politician has gone missing, just hours after his release from prison. Allies say he was abducted by armed men in Caracas, while authorities maintain he breached his release conditions.
Opposition figure Juan Pablo Guanipa was taken overnight from a residential neighborhood in Caracas, according to opposition leader María Corina Machado.
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Machado claimed that heavily armed men in civilian clothes arrived in multiple vehicles around midnight and seized Guanipa by force.
Guanipa released after eight month detention
Guanipa was freed earlier Sunday after more than eight months in detention. He was just one of numerous prominent opposition members released after lengthy, politically motivated detentions.
Venezuela’s interim government, led by acting President Delcy Rodríguez, began releasing a limited prisoner release program launched after former President Nicolás Maduro was captured by U.S. forces earlier this year.
Venezuela’s opposition and human rights groups have said the country’s government uses detentions to quell dissent. However, the government has long denied holding political prisoners, saying those in jail have committed crimes.
Following Guanipa’s release, he spoke publicly, saying he believed the country had “completely changed” and urged supporters to keep pushing for a free and democratic country.
“I am convinced that it is now up to all of us to focus on building a free and democratic country,” he said.
In a video posted online, Guanipa also called for the release of other political prisoners and described the current government as illegitimate.
Venezuelan authorities now state they were seeking court approval to place Guanipa under house arrest, claiming he had breached the conditions of his release, although they have not publicly disclosed what those violations entail. They did not say whether he had been re-arrested.
