Venezuela's opposition leader defies Maduro to lead protests that end in confusing arrest claims

Venezuela’s opposition leader defies Maduro to lead protests that end in confusing arrest claims

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People took to the streets of Venezuela’s capital Thursday seeking to block President Nicolás Maduro’s attempt to cling to power despite credible evidence that he lost last summer’s election. Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was arrested when her motorcycle convoy was intercepted by security forces as it departed an anti-government protest, according to aides. (AP Video: Andry Rincon & Juan Arraez)

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Venezuelan Opposition Leader Maria Corina Machado was seen exiting an anti-government protest in Caracas on Thursday before her team reported her arrest by security forces. Machado emerged from months of hiding earlier in the day and reappeared in public as part of a last-ditch attempt to block President Nicolás Maduro from clinging to power.

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Self-exiled Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo González is rallying regional support for the opposition’s claims that he won the July election against President Nicolás Maduro. Days before Venezuela’s presidential inauguration, González held meetings in the Dominican Republic, having already made a stop in Panama.

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Ahead of Venezuela presidential inauguration, doubts remain following election results | AP Explains

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Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado addresses supporters at a protest against President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, the day before his inauguration for a third term. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

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Police pursue opponents of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, two people on the motorcycle at right, during a protest the day before Maduro’s inauguration for a third term in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

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Supporters of Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado surround the truck she waves from during a protest against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro the day before his inauguration for a third term in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

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Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado addresses supporters during a protest against President Nicolas Maduro the day before his inauguration for a third term in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

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Government supporters shout at opponents of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro who are protesting the day before his inauguration for a third term in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)

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Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, wearing a helmet at left, sits on the back of a motorcycle as she is driven away after addressing people at a protest against President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, the day before his inauguration for a third term. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

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Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado greets supporters during a protest against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro the day before his inauguration for a third term in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

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Police take possession of the truck from which opposition leader Maria Corina Machado addressed supporters at a protest in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, the day before President Nicolas Maduro’s inauguration for a third term. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

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Opponents of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro display a Venezuelan flag during a protest the day before his inauguration for a third term in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

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Police detain an opponent of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro during a protest the day before his inauguration for a third term in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

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Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado stands before supporters during a protest against President Nicolas Maduro the day before his inauguration for a third term, in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

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Government supporters ride past opponents of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro who are protesting the day before his inauguration for a third term in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)

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A priest blesses Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado during a rally against President Nicolas Maduro the day before his inauguration for a third term, in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

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Opponents of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro protest the day before his inauguration for a third term in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

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Former Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez, third from left, stands with former presidents, from left, Vicente Fox of Mexico, Andres Pastrana of Colombia, Hipolito Mejia of the Dominican Republic, Jamil Mahuad of Ecuador and Felipe Calderon of Mexico at the presidential palace in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP PhotoRicardo Hernandez)

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Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado greets supporters at a protest against President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, the day before his inauguration for a third term. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

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Government supporters, right, argue with an opponent of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro during an opposition protest the day before his inauguration for a third term in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)

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A man wearing the phrase in Spanish “Fight for freedom” kneels during a demonstration by opponents of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro the day before his inauguration for a third term in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

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Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado addresses supporters during a protest against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro the day before his inauguration for a third term in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

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Venezuelan Tulio Rodriguez holds a wanted sign of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro that reads in Spanish: “Reward. Dead or alive” outside the Venezuelan embassy in Lima, Peru, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, the day before his inauguration for a third term. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

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Opponents of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro protest the day before his inauguration for a third term in Bogota, Colombia, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)

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Opponents of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro protest the day before his inauguration for a third term in Bogota, Colombia, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)

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A woman cries during a protest by opponents of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro the day before his inauguration for a third term, in Bogota, Colombia, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)

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Opponents of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro hold a banner that reads in Spanish: “Venezuela, you’re not alone” at Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, the day before Maduro’s inauguration for a third term. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

By REGINA GARCIA CANO and JOSHUA GOODMAN

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela opposition leader Maria Corina Machado’s aides said she was detained on Thursday, followed moments later by official denials of her arrest, in a confusing episode that capped a day of protests seeking to block President Nicolás Maduro from clinging to power.

It remained unclear what exactly happened after Machado bid farewell to hundreds of supporters, hopped on a motorcycle and raced with her security convoy down a main Caracas avenue.

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At 3:21 p.m. local time, Machado’s press team said in a social media post that security forces “violently intercepted” her convoy. Her aides later told The Associated Press that she had been detained, and international condemnation poured in from leaders in Latin America and beyond, demanding her release.

But about an hour later, a proof-of-life, 20-second video of Machado emerged online in which she says she was followed after leaving the “wonderful” rally and had dropped her purse.

“I’m good, I’m safe,” Machado said in a raspy voice, adding “Venezuela will be free.”

Her aides later claimed in a social media post that the video message had been coerced, and that after recording it, she was freed. They said she would provide details of her “kidnapping” later.

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The Associated Press was unable to contact Machado or confirm her whereabouts.

Meanwhile, Maduro’s supporters denied Machado had been detained, claiming that government opponents were trying to spread fake news to generate an international crisis.

“Nobody should be surprised,” Communications Minister Freddy Nanez said. “Especially since it’s coming from the fascists, who were the architects of the dirty trick.”

Earlier Thursday, Machado addressed hundreds of supporters who heeded her call to take to the streets a day before the ruling party-controlled National Assembly was scheduled to swear in Maduro to a third six-year term despite credible evidence that he lost the presidential election.

“They wanted us to fight each other, but Venezuela is united, we are not afraid,” Machado shouted from atop a truck in the capital minutes before she was reported detained.

Machado, 57, is a hard-liner and former lawmaker who stayed and fought against Maduro even after many of her allies among opposition leaders went into exile in the face of repression, joining an exodus of more than 7.7 million Venezuelans who’ve abandoned their homeland since 2013.

Loyalists who control the country’s judiciary banned her from running against Maduro last year. In a deft move, she backed an unknown outsider — retired diplomat Edmundo González — who crushed Maduro by a more than two-to-one margin, according to voting machine records collected by the opposition and validated by international observers.

González, invoking the title of president-elect recognized by the United States and other countries, demanded her immediate release.

“To the security forces, I warn you: don’t play with fire,” he said in a social media post from the Dominican Republic, where he met with President Luis Abinader and a delegation of former presidents from across Latin America.

President-elect Donald Trump weighed in on Machado and Gonzalez’s efforts. “These freedom fighters should not be harmed, and MUST stay SAFE and ALIVE!” Trump said on Truth Social.

There was a relatively small turnout for Thursday’s protests as riot police were deployed in force. Venezuelans who have witnessed Maduro’s security forces round up scores of opponents and regular bystanders since the July election were reluctant to turn out in large numbers as they have in the past.

“Of course, there’s fewer people,” empanada vendor Miguel Contreras said as National Guard soldiers carrying riot shields buzzed by on motorcycles. “There’s fear.”

Demonstrators blocked a main avenue in one opposition stronghold. Many were senior citizens and dressed in red, yellow and blue, answering Machado’s call to wear the colors of the Venezuelan flag. All condemned Maduro and said they would recognize González as Venezuela’s legitimate president.

The deployment of security forces as well as pro-government armed groups known as “colectivos” to intimidate opponents betrays a deep insecurity on the part of Maduro, said Javier Corrales, a Latin America expert at Amherst College.

Since the elections, the government has arrested more than 2,000 people — including as many as 10 Americans and other foreigners — who it claims have been plotting to oust Maduro and sow chaos in the oil rich South American nation. This week alone, masked gunmen arrested a former presidential candidate, a prominent free speech activist and even González’s son-in-law as he was taking his young children to school.

“It’s an impressive show of force but it’s also a sign of weakness,” said Corrales, who co-authored this month an article, “How Maduro Stole Venezuela’s Vote,” in the Journal of Democracy.

“Maduro is safe in office,” said Corrales, “but he and his allies recognize they are moving forward with a big lie and have no other way to justify what they are doing except by relying on the military.”

Venezuela’s National Electoral Council, also stacked with government loyalists, declared Maduro the winner of the election. But unlike in previous contests, authorities did not provide any access to voting records or precinct-level results.

The opposition, however, collected tally sheets from 85% of electronic voting machines and posted them online. They showed that its candidate, González, had thrashed Maduro by a more than two-to-one margin. Experts from the United Nations and the Atlanta-based Carter Center, both invited by Maduro’s government to observe the election, have said the tally sheets published by the opposition are legitimate.

The U.S. and other governments have also recognized González as Venezuela’s president-elect. Even many of Maduro’s former leftist allies in Latin America plan to skip Friday’s swearing-in ceremony.

President Joe Biden, meeting González at the White House this week, praised the previously unknown retired diplomat for having “inspired millions.”

“The people of Venezuela deserve a peaceful transfer of power to the true winner of their presidential election,” Biden said following the meeting.

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Goodman reported from Miami.