Ahead of anti-Maduro demonstrations, Venezuela’s opposition condemns arrests

Ahead of scheduled protests against President Nicolas Maduro’s inauguration for a third term on Friday, Venezuelan opposition parties and nongovernmental organizations denounced the detention of a well-known opposition figure and a famous press freedom campaigner, among others.

In what it described as a “worsening of persecution and repression” by the Maduro regime, the opposition Popular Will party announced late Tuesday on X that at least 19 individuals had been arrested nationally.

A request for comment about the most recent arrests was not immediately answered by the attorney general’s office or the Communications Ministry.

Among other things, the government has accused prominent opposition leaders of instigating violence with their claims of victory in the July election and is looking into them for suspected conspiracy.

The opposition has released vote box-level results that it claims demonstrate a landslide win for its candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, who is currently traveling around the area to further the opposition’s case and who is acknowledged as the next president by the US and other nations.

Although they have not released comprehensive numbers, the election body and Venezuela’s top officials claim Maduro won.

Gonzalez said that as he was dropping his kids off at school on Tuesday, his son-in-law was abducted.

Two Americans were among the seven “mercenaries” the government announced it had arrested on Tuesday. The government has frequently accused the opposition of collaborating with foreign countries to carry out acts of terrorism and sabotage. It gave no more information.

Protests following the election resulted in almost 2,000 arrests. According to the administration, 1,515 of them were freed this week.

The Popular Will party announced on social media that 61-year-old politician Enrique Marquez, who supported Gonzalez as the winner in the 2024 elections, had been arrested without giving further information.

Hooded officers detained 60-year-old Carlos Correa, the director of the press freedom NGO Espacio Publico, on Tuesday afternoon, the group said on X.

President Gustavo Petro of neighboring Colombia stated on X on Wednesday that Marquez and Correa’s detentions prohibit him from attending Maduro’s inauguration in person. Petro went on to say that he would not sever ties with Venezuela, with whom he has attempted to expand commerce.

Maria Corina Machado, the opposition leader who was disqualified from the 2024 election but is still very popular, announced on Tuesday that she will go to the opposition marches scheduled for Thursday, although she did not say where.

Machado, 57, has been hiding since August and is under investigation by the authorities in at least two cases of suspected conspiracy. Her arrest does not have a public warrant.

During a virtual news conference, she declared, “I wouldn’t miss that day for anything,” “I can’t promise the day or hour, but Venezuela will be free. It will occur, whether before, during, or after January 10.

Machado and Gonzalez have called on the military and police to back the opposition on several occasions.