CARACAS, Venezuela 鈥� Aides to Venezuela opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said she was detained Thursday, followed moments later by official denials, in a confusing episode that capped a day of protests seeking to block President Nicol谩s Maduro from clinging to power.
It's not clear exactly what transpired after Machado bid farewell to hundreds of supporters, hopped on a motorcycle and raced with her security convoy through the empty streets of eastern Caracas to an undisclosed location.
At 3:21 p.m. local time, Machado鈥檚 press team said in a social media post that security forces 鈥渧iolently intercepted鈥� her convoy. Her aides later confirmed to The Associated Press that the opposition hardliner had been detained, and international condemnation immediately poured from leaders in Latin America and beyond demanding her release.
But about an hour later, a 20-second video of Machado was posted online by a Maduro supporter in which the opposition leader said she was followed after leaving the rally and that she had dropped her purse. 鈥淚'm good, I'm safe,鈥� Machado said in a raspy voice, adding 鈥淰enezuela will be free.鈥�
Her aides later said in a social media post that the proof-of-of-life video message had been coerced, and that after recording it she was freed. They said she would provide details of her 鈥渒idnapping鈥� later.
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Meanwhile, Maduro supporters denied that she was detained and gloated that government opponents were trying to spread fake news to generate an international crisis. 鈥淣obody should be surprised,鈥� Communications Minister Freddy Nanez said. 鈥淓specially since it's coming from the fascists, who were the architects of the dirty trick.鈥�
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.
鈥淭hey wanted us to fight each other, but Venezuela is united, we are not afraid,鈥� Machado shouted from atop a truck in the capital minutes before she was reported detained.
Machado, 57, is a hardliner former lawmaker who stayed and fought against Maduro even after many of her allies in the opposition leadership fled, joining an exodus of some 7 million Venezuelans who鈥檝e abandoned their homeland in recent years.
Loyalists who control the country's judiciary banned her from running against Maduro last year. In a deft move, she backed an unknown outsider 鈥� retired diplomat Edmundo Gonz谩lez 鈥� 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.
Gonz谩lez, invoking the title of president-elect recognized by the U.S. and other countries, was among those who demanded Machado's release in the immediate aftermath of what was believed to be her shock arrest.
鈥淭o the security forces, I warn you: don't play with fire,鈥� 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.
There was a relatively small turnout for Thursday's protests as riot police were deployed in force. Venezuelans who鈥檝e witnessed Maduro鈥檚 security forces since the July election were reluctant to mobilize in the same numbers as they have in the past.
鈥淥f course, there鈥檚 fewer people,鈥� said empanada vendor Miguel Contrera as National Guard soldiers carrying riot shields buzzed by on motorcycles. 鈥淭here鈥檚 fear.鈥�
Those demonstrators that did show up blocked a main avenue in one opposition stronghold. Many were senior citizens and dressed in red, yellow and blue, answering Machado鈥檚 call to wear the colors of the Venezuelan flag. All repudiated Maduro and said they would recognize Gonz谩lez as Venezuela鈥檚 legitimate president.
The deployment of security forces as well as pro-government armed groups known as 鈥渃olectivos鈥� 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 鈥� including as and other foreigners 鈥� 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 Gonz谩lez鈥檚 son-in-law as he was taking his young children to school.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an impressive show of force but it鈥檚 also a sign of weakness,鈥� said Corrales, who co-authored this month an article, 鈥淗ow Maduro Stole Venezuela鈥檚 Vote,鈥� in the Journal of Democracy.
鈥淢aduro is safe in office,鈥� said Corrales, 鈥渂ut 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.鈥�
Venezuela鈥檚 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 from 85% of electronic voting machines and posted them online. They showed that its candidate, Gonz谩lez, 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鈥檚 government to observe the election, have said .
The U.S. and other governments have also recognized Gonz谩lez as Venezuela鈥檚 president-elect. Even many of Maduro鈥檚 former leftist allies in Latin America plan to skip Friday鈥檚 swearing-in ceremony.
President Joe Biden, meeting Gonz谩lez at the White House this week, praised the previously unknown retired diplomat for having
鈥淭he people of Venezuela deserve a peaceful transfer of power to the true winner of their presidential election,鈥� Biden said following the meeting.
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Goodman reported from Miami.
