In a concerning development for Venezuela’s political landscape, opposition figure Juan Pablo Guanipa has reportedly been forcibly taken by armed individuals mere hours after his release from an eight-month detention. The incident occurred in the Los Chorros district of Caracas, according to statements from Nobel Peace Prize laureate and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado.
Machado detailed on social media that heavily armed men wearing civilian clothing arrived in four vehicles and violently apprehended Guanipa, who leads the center-right Justice First party. The abduction marks a dramatic reversal after Guanipa was among approximately thirty political prisoners freed on Sunday, as documented by Foro Penal, an organization supporting Venezuela’s political detainees.
Guanipa’s political journey has been marked by ongoing tensions with the government. Elected governor of Zulia region in 2017, he was prevented from assuming office after refusing to swear allegiance to President Nicolás Maduro’s National Constituent Assembly. His legal troubles intensified when he faced accusations of terrorism and treason for disputing the 2024 election results, ultimately leading to his capture by security forces in May 2025 after a period in hiding.
The Justice First party has unequivocally labeled the incident a kidnapping orchestrated by ‘the repressive forces of the dictatorship.’ Eyewitness accounts from those present describe weapons being aimed at the group before Guanipa was forced into a vehicle. The party has publicly held three senior government officials—Interim President Delcy Rodríguez, National Assembly Speaker Jorge Rodríguez, and Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello—directly responsible for Guanipa’s safety and wellbeing.
This event occurs against the backdrop of continued tensions between the Venezuelan government and opposition groups, which maintain that Maduro’s administration has systematically employed arbitrary detentions to suppress dissent and silence critics. The international community faces renewed calls to intervene and demand both Guanipa’s immediate release and an end to the persecution of opposition figures in Venezuela.