Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has reported that her colleague Juan Pablo Guanipa was kidnapped just hours after his release from detention. The incident took place in the Los Chorros neighborhood of the capital, Caracas.
Machado, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, revealed on social media that Guanipa, who leads the Justice First party, was forcibly taken by heavily armed men in civilian clothes who arrived in four vehicles.
Heavily armed men dressed in civilian clothes arrived in four vehicles and took him away by force, she stated on early Monday.
Guanipa had spent eight months in prison and was released as part of a broader amnesty that followed the US seizure of Venezuela's then-President Nicolas Maduro in January.
His party has accused the authorities of being behind the kidnapping, stating that Guanipa was taken by the repressive forces of the dictatorship while he was being transported.
Witnesses reportedly confirmed that weapons were drawn during the abduction. Justice First has held Venezuelan officials responsible for any harm that may come to Guanipa, mentioning Delcy Rodríguez, Jorge Rodríguez, and Diosdado Cabello specifically.
The party expressed urgent calls for the international community to intervene and demand Guanipa's immediate release and to put an end to the Venezuelan government's ongoing repression of the opposition.
Earlier that same day, Guanipa’s son was celebrating his father’s release on social media, hoping for a family reunion soon. The leader was among at least 30 political prisoners released on the same day, as reported by Foro Penal, which assists political prisoners in Venezuela.
Guanipa, elected governor of Zulia region in 2017, had been barred from office for refusing to swear an oath before Maduro's National Constituent Assembly. After being accused of terrorism and treason for disputing the outcome of the 2024 elections, he had gone into hiding before being apprehended by security forces in May 2025.
Opposition and human rights groups have condemned the Maduro government's tactics, claiming they have long used detentions as a means to silence dissent and stifle critics.
