Feb 8 (Reuters) – A prominent Venezuelan opposition politician was kidnapped in Caracas on Sunday night just hours after his release from jail, according to his son and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado, casting uncertainty over government vows to free political prisoners.
Juan Pablo Guanipa, a close ally of opposition leader Machado, was freed earlier on Sunday after more than eight months in jail on accusations of leading a terrorist plot, after months in hiding.
His release followed promises by Venezuela’s government to pass an amnesty law and release more prisoners, as U.S. pressure mounts a month after the Trump administration captured and deposed long-time leader Nicolas Maduro.
Guanipa’s son Ramon Guanipa said in a video on social media his father was ambushed by 10 heavily armed, unidentified men who he called “officials.”
“My father has again been kidnapped,” he said. “I demand proof of life immediately.”
Venezuela’s government did not immediately reply to a request for comment about Guanipa’s disappearance following his release.
Machado, who won the Nobel for her efforts to unseat Maduro, also urged Guanipa’s release.
“Heavily armed men dressed in civilian clothes arrived in four vehicles and took him away by force,” she said in a post on X, noting the incident took place in the Los Chorros area of the capital Caracas.
Just hours before, the elder Guanipa had posted videos to social media in which he spoke to journalists and a crowd of cheering supporters. He urged the release of other political prisoners and called the current administration illegitimate.
Maduro’s reelection in 2024 was widely seen as rigged and a number of countries, including the U.S., do not recognize his government’s legitimacy.
Guanipa said in an interview with a local online outlet that he spoke briefly with Machado after being let go, and hoped to speak with her further the next day.
Venezuela’s opposition and human rights groups have said for years that the country’s socialist government uses detentions to stamp out dissent.
The government denies holding political prisoners and says those jailed have committed crimes. Officials say nearly 900 of these people have been released, but they have not been clear about the timeline and appear to be including releases from previous years. The government has not provided an official list of how many prisoners will be released or revealed their identities.
Rights group Foro Penal has said 383 political prisoners had been let go since the Venezuelan government announced on January 8 that it would begin a new series of releases. It counted another 35 releases on Sunday, including opposition politician Freddy Superlano and lawyer Perkins Rocha, also close allies of Machado.
The group’s director Alfredo Romero said on social media they did not yet have clear information about who took Guanipa.
(Reporting by Akanksha Khushi in Bengaluru and Daina Beth Solomon; Editing by Sonali Paul and Lincoln Feast.)
