Feb 8 (Reuters) – A prominent Venezuelan opposition politician was kidnapped in Caracas on Sunday night just hours after his release from prison, according to his son and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado, casting doubt on government promises to free political prisoners.
Juan Pablo Guanipa, a close ally of opposition leader Machado, was released earlier Sunday after more than eight months in prison on charges of leading a terrorist plot, after months in hiding.
His release followed promises by the Venezuelan government to pass an amnesty law and release more prisoners, as US pressure mounts a month after the Trump administration arrested and ousted longtime leader Nicolas Maduro.
Guanipa’s son, Ramon Guanipa, said in a video on social media that his father was pushed by 10 heavily armed and unidentified men that he called “officers”.
“My father has been kidnapped again,” he said. “I demand proof of life immediately.”
The Venezuelan government did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Guanipa’s disappearance after his release.
Machado, who won the Nobel for her efforts to oust Maduro, also called for Guanipa’s release.
“Heavily armed men dressed in civilian clothes arrived in four vehicles and took him by force,” she said in a post on X, noting that the incident took place in the Los Chorros area of the capital Caracas.
A few hours earlier, the elder Guanipa had posted videos on social media in which he spoke to reporters and a crowd of cheering supporters. He urged for the release of other political prisoners and called the current administration illegitimate.
Maduro’s re-election in 2024 was widely seen as predicted and a number of countries, including the United States, do not recognize the legitimacy of his government.
Guanipa said in an interview with a local online outlet that he spoke briefly with Machado after he was released, and hopes to speak with her more the next day.
Venezuela’s opposition and human rights groups have been saying for years that the country’s socialist government uses detentions to suppress dissent.
The government denies holding political prisoners and says those imprisoned have committed crimes. Officials said nearly 900 of these people have been released, but were unclear about the timeline and appear to include releases from previous years. The government has not provided an official list of how many prisoners will be released or reveal their identities.
Rights group Foro Penal said 383 political prisoners have been released since the Venezuelan government announced on January 8 that it would begin a new round of releases. Sunday counted 35 more releases, including opposition politician Freddy Superlano and lawyer Perkins Rocha, also close allies of Machado.
The director of the group Alfredo Romero said on social media that they still did not have clear information about who took Guanipa.
(Reporting by Akanksha Khushi in Bengaluru and Daina Beth Solomon; Editing by Sonali Paul and Lincoln Feast.)