Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado 'kidnapped', allies say

Venezuela's opposition leader, María Corina Machado, was "kidnapped" by government officials after leading a protest against authoritarian president Nicolás Maduro, according to allies.

Machado supporters reported she was released around three hours after the announcement, after being knocked from a motorcycle and "taken away by force" while leaving the gathering and forced to record a series of videos.

'María Corina Machado.'

AFP via Getty Images

Despite widespread allegations that he stole last year's election, Maduro will be inaugurated in for his third presidential term on Friday. Hugo Chávez's succession has offered no verification of his win claim, but Machado's movement has published comprehensive voting counts that provide overwhelming evidence that its candidate, Edmundo González, won.

On Thursday, thousands of opposition supporters marched around Venezuelan cities to protest Maduro's upcoming swearing-in at the request of Machado, who went into hiding immediately after the July 28, 2024 vote to avoid capture.

Machado, 57, resurfaced on Thursday afternoon in Caracas before a big gathering of demonstrators after spending more than 133 days imprisoned up in a hidden location. Clambering onto a truck, the politician led them in chants of "We are not afraid."

Machado exited the demonstration after giving an impassioned speech, but was "violently intercepted," according to her attorneys in a brief statement.

"Regime officials opened fire on the motorcycles that were transporting her," Machado's representatives explained.

Carla Angola, a notable Venezuelan journalist, wrote on X that "the regime has kidnapped María Corina."

Another prominent Venezuelan journalist, Luz Mely Reyes, said that Machado instructed her team "not to negotiate her freedom" before to her arrest.

Phil Gunson, a Crisis Group analyst based in Caracas, said: "We know for definite that she has been hauled off. It appears that at least one individual was shot during this operation.

Gunson said that for years, Maduro's administration had refrained from detaining Machado, believing that while she was "an irritant," arresting her may backfire by making her even more popular. Those estimates appeared to shift on Thursday, following her presence at a rally in Caracas.

"She made them appear silly today. They flooded the city with police, military, and colectivos [pro-regime motorcycle gangs], and she attended the demonstration and largely ignored them. "I believe that was a step too far," Gunson stated. "She knew that this could happen … she was prepared for it - and they have taken the bait."

Machado's detention drew international condemnation. "The dictatorial regime is responsible for her life," tweeted Panama's president, José Raúl Mulino.

Colombia's former president, Iván Duque, described the detention as "yet another demonstration of the vileness of the cowardly dictator Maduro". The Spanish foreign ministry expressed "total condemnation and concern," while Argentina's presidency condemned "the Chavista regime's criminal attack."

On social media, President-elect Edmundo González called for the release of María Corina Machado, who was seized by Venezuelan security agents. To the security personnel that kidnapped her, I urge, "Do not play with fire."

Gunson said that the repercussions on the ground in Venezuela were unpredictable. "What matters most is how the security forces respond. As long as the security forces, or at least the top command, are fully behind Maduro, he should be safe. However, this will exacerbate the government's issues.

Carlos Lizarralde, the author of Venezuela's Collapse: The Long Story of How Things Fell Apart, saw Machado's reported detention as a sign that Maduro's regime was confident that a massive post-election security crackdown, which has resulted in hundreds of people being imprisoned, was effective.

"Their gameplan has been very clear to me from day one: to take control of the streets [with security forces and police]; create an environment of terror so that people think twice about any kind of action against the government or any kind of protest; neutralize any network that might threaten them; consolidate their power within police departments and the military; and proceed as if nothing were happening." They are doing exactly that. "And, from Maduro's perspective, things are going swimmingly," Lizarralde said, adding: "I think they feel very, very secure and in control."

About three hours after Machado's disappearance was reported, supporters announced she had been released and would address the public in the coming hours to explain what had happened.

Pro-regime media journalists dismissed Machado's purported kidnapping as an opposition farce and uploaded a video of unknown provenance that they said showed Machado indicating she was safe and fine. It was unclear how the journalists obtained the tape or whether Machado was speaking under duress.

In one of her most recent significant appearances, Machado told journalists on Tuesday that Venezuela was reaching "one of the most important moments in Latin American history".

"The only thing the regime has left is repression - the only thing it has left is instilling fear in Venezuelans and if Venezuelans can overcome this fear, repression will be pointless," she added. RA