Opposition leader Guanipa detained again in Venezuela after release from prison
In Venezuela, one of the opposition leaders, Juan Pablo Guanip, a close ally of María Corina Machado, was kidnapped. The politician herself announced this, saying that it happened just a few hours after his release from prison, DW reports.
According to Machado, Guanipa was forcibly taken away by armed men in civilian clothing. They arrived in four cars and acted aggressively. She publicly called for the immediate release of the opposition figure and denounced the gross violation of his rights.
Guanipa had been in custody since May 2025 and had been held in a detention centre in the capital Caracas for more than eight months. His name was among those released on Sunday along with other opposition figures. According to the human rights organisation Foro Penal, at least 18 people were released that day, and a total of 383 political prisoners have been released since January.
The Venezuelan prosecutor's office said it had requested that the preventive measure imposed on Guanipa be lifted. The office said that the 61-year-old politician had allegedly failed to comply with the terms of his house arrest, which were intended to ensure the criminal proceedings could continue. At the same time, the specific circumstances of his re-arrest remain unclear.
The politician's son, Ramon Guanipa, released a video in which he called the incident a planned ambush. According to him, about ten armed and unknown individuals were involved in the abduction.
Earlier, Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello accused Guanipa of organising a terrorist conspiracy to disrupt the parliamentary elections. After his release, the opposition figure posted a video on social media in which he stated that there are many topics for discussion about the present and future of Venezuela, emphasising the importance of truth.
The situation is unfolding against a backdrop of growing international pressure on the government of Delcy Rodríguez, who is acting as president following the arrest of Nicolás Maduro by the United States. The opposition and human rights activists are demanding the release of hundreds of political prisoners, but the authorities have not published a complete list of those they plan to release and insist that they are holding people not for their political views but for criminal offences.
