Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has alleged that prominent opposition figure Juan Pablo Guanipa was forcibly taken by armed men just hours after being released from detention, raising fresh concerns over the safety of political opponents in the country.
Machado said on Sunday that Guanipa, a leader of the centre-right Justice First party and a former vice-president of Venezuela’s National Assembly, was seized in the Los Chorros neighbourhood of the capital, Caracas. In a message posted on social media early on Monday, she said heavily armed men dressed in civilian clothing arrived in four vehicles and took him away by force.
Guanipa had spent eight months in prison and was among several political prisoners released on Sunday, according to Foro Penal, a Venezuelan organisation that provides legal assistance to detainees. His release had sparked brief celebrations among family members, with his son Ramón posting online that the family would soon be reunited.
Justice First said Guanipa was kidnapped by what it described as the “repressive forces of the dictatorship” while he was moving between locations. The party said those accompanying him reported that weapons were pointed at the group before Guanipa was forced into a vehicle and driven away.
The party held senior government figures responsible for his safety, naming Delcy Rodríguez, Jorge Rodríguez and Diosdado Cabello, and warned that they would be accountable for any harm to his life. It also urged the international community to demand Guanipa’s immediate release and to press for an end to what it described as systematic persecution of opposition figures.
Guanipa, who was elected governor of Venezuela’s oil-rich Zulia region in 2017, was prevented from taking office after refusing to swear allegiance before the pro-government National Constituent Assembly. He later went into hiding after being accused of terrorism and treason for challenging the outcome of the 2024 election.
Security forces tracked him down and detained him in May 2025. His brief release and subsequent disappearance have intensified fears among opposition groups and human rights organisations, which say the government of President Nicolás Maduro has for years used detentions and intimidation to silence critics and suppress dissent.
The Venezuelan authorities have not publicly commented on the latest allegations surrounding Guanipa’s disappearance.
Melissa Enoch
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