Juan Pablo Guanipa Back Home, Under House Arrest After Shocking Kidnapping

Wed Feb 11 2026 01:04:36 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Pablo Guanipa has been released from prison but is now under house arrest after being kidnapped by armed forces shortly after his release. His family and other political leaders demand his freedom.

Juan Pablo Guanipa, a prominent Venezuelan opposition politician, has returned home from a brief period in custody but remains under house arrest following his kidnapping by security forces. His family expresses relief but insists he is still imprisoned and calls for his full release.

Venezuelan opposition politician Juan Pablo Guanipa has returned home after being captured by security forces on Sunday - but is under house arrest, his son has said.

Ramón Guanipa said while his family was relieved, his father remained unjustly imprisoned.

The country's opposition leader María Corina Machado said on Sunday that Guanipa had been taken in the capital Caracas by heavily armed men. It came hours after Guanipa and other political prisoners were released.

Venezuela's Interior and Justice Minister Diosdado Cabello later said a person was rearrested for violating the conditions under which he was released.

Some politicians believed they could do whatever they wanted, Cabello added on Monday.

A former vice-president of the National Assembly, Guanipa spent eight months in prison and is among several political prisoners to have been freed since the US seized Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro in January.

In an interview with the BBC on Tuesday, Ramón said his father, leader of the Justice First party, had initially been released from prison at about 11:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Sunday.

He said his father then spent time with families waiting for the release of other political prisoners.

He made some statements, he mobilised a lot of people, Ramón said, continuing: He went on an interview... and after that he was kidnapped by security forces that weren't wearing uniform, that weren't identified properly.

During the BBC interview, Guanipa's son said he had been informed that his father would be returned and placed under house arrest. But he said no further information was shared about when his father would be transported.

Later on Tuesday, Ramón posted on his father's X account, saying: I confirm that my father, Juan Pablo Guanipa, is at our home in Maracaibo. We are relieved to know that our family will soon be together.

He added: My father remains unjustly imprisoned, because house arrest is still imprisonment, and we demand his full freedom, as well as the freedom of all political prisoners.

Ramón thanked the US government, including President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, for their efforts in support of freedom in Venezuela and for all political prisoners.