Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado announced that her colleague, Juan Pablo Guanipa, was kidnapped just hours after being released from detention. Guanipa, the leader of the Justice First party, was reportedly taken from the Los Chorros neighbourhood in Caracas.
Machado stated on social media that heavily armed men dressed in civilian clothes arrived in four vehicles to forcibly take Guanipa.
A former vice-president of the National Assembly, Guanipa spent eight months in prison and was among several political prisoners released after the US took action against Venezuela's then-President Nicolás Maduro in January.
His party described the kidnapping as an act by the repressive forces of the dictatorship while Guanipa was moving between locations. Witnesses reported that weapons were drawn during the abduction.
Justice First has held Delcy Rodríguez, Jorge Rodríguez, and Diosdado Cabello responsible for any harm that may come to Guanipa and has called for the international community to demand his immediate release and an end to the persecution of opposition members.
Just hours before the kidnapping, Guanipa's son had expressed joy over his father's release, anticipating a family reunion. Guanipa was one of approximately 30 individuals freed from detention on that day, as per the organization Foro Penal, which aids political prisoners in Venezuela.
After being barred from taking office as governor of the Zulia region, Guanipa went into hiding, being accused of terrorism and treason for contesting the 2024 election results. He was found and detained in May 2025.
The situation reflects years of the Maduro government's efforts to suppress dissent through the detention of political opponents and critics, raising serious human rights concerns.
