Maria Corina Machado said Monday that a Venezuelan opposition leader was captured in Caracas shortly after his release from prison.
Machado wrote in a post on
“We demand his immediate release,” she said.
Alfredo Romero, the president of the Venezuelan human rights group Foro Penal said 35 political prisoners were released on Sunday, including Guanipa, who was initially arrested in May.
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Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado and Juan Pablo Guanipa take part in an anti-government protest on January 9, 2025 in Caracas, Venezuela. (Alfredo Lasry R/Getty Images)
Reuters reported that Venezuelan authorities were seeking court approval to place Guanipa under house arrest.
The country’s public prosecutor’s office alleged he had violated the conditions of his release, but did not provide additional details or say whether he had been rearrested.
Guanipa’s Primero Justicia party said on X that he was forced into a silver Toyota Corolla during the incident.
Juan Pablo Guanipa, opposition leader and recently released from prison, visits relatives of political prisoners near the El Helicoide detention center in Caracas on February 8, 2026. (Jesus Vargas/Photo Alliance via Getty Images)
“We love Delcy RodriguezJorge Rodríguez and Diosdado Cabello are responsible for the damage to Juan Pablo’s life,” the party wrote. “We call on the international community for the immediate release of Juan Pablo Guanipa and for an immediate and unconditional end to the persecution of the opposition.”
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Rodríguez has been Venezuela’s interim president since the American conquest Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores earlier this year.
Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodríguez speaks during the presentation of the 2025 budget bill at the National Assembly in Caracas on December 3, 2024. (Juan Barreto/AFP via Getty Images)
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In late January, President Donald Trump said Venezuela was releasing political prisoners at a “rapid pace,” praising the move as a “strong humanitarian gesture” by the country’s leaders.
According to Foro Penal, it is estimated that there are still 687 political prisoners in Venezuela as of February 2.
