Venezuela's socialist government briefly detained opposition leader Maria Colina Machado on Thursday amid gunfire in her first public appearance in months.
Machado, who heads Venezuela's only mainstream center-right party, Vente Venezuela, has remained in hiding for months in the face of threats of arrest after the socialist government issued an arrest warrant for ousted opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González. Ta. run away I will be going to Spain in September. This past year, dozens of Members of Vente Venezuela, include Key staff members of Machado's team have been persecuted and arbitrarily imprisoned by the Maduro regime.
machado publicly appeared again Thursday afternoon in Caracas to join a nationwide peaceful protest organized by opposition groups. convened This was to protest the new six-year term that socialist dictator Nicolas Maduro unfairly won following his “victory” in the fraudulent presidential election on July 28.
Mr. Gonzalez, a 75-year-old former diplomat, came after the United States and other countries presented a fake election-day voter tally that the opposition said could show Mr. Maduro lost in a landslide. was recognized as the winner of the election by several countries.
Mr. Maduro sworn He was sworn in as president on Friday morning by Jorge Rodríguez, the president of the ruling National Assembly. Mr. Gonzalez is Also He is scheduled to be sworn in as president on Friday, but was not in Venezuela at press time. venezuela opposition party reportedly González insisted he would be sworn in as Venezuela's president on Friday despite his absence, but insisted he “cannot abandon the strategy” to make that happen.
In remarks at Thursday's protests, Machado argued that whatever the Maduro government does after Friday “they will be buried” and that would mean the end of the socialist regime.
“If they commit crimes against the Constitution and the sovereignty of the people, they will be sentenced to their fate. As of today, we have entered a new phase, and in recent days and “We've been preparing for the last few weeks,” Machado said. “We spent Christmas in deep reflection. Venezuela has already decided and Venezuela is free.”
After a while, Machado's team reported She said she was violently blocked as she tried to leave the rally, and that Maduro regime officials opened fire on the motorcycle she was transporting. Machado was kidnapped and remained missing at the time.
The international community and several heads of state immediately condemned the event. Some governments such as Argentina, Panamaand Chile issued a public statement calling for Machado's immediate release. President-elect Donald Trump warned the Maduro regime and demanded both Machado's safety and survival.
El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele appeared to reference events in Venezuela by first posting a photo of Caracas. weather He then posted a photo of a blue wallet, referring to the “blue wallet” Machado mentioned in a video released by the Maduro government.
“Venezuelan democratic activist Maria Colina Machado and President-elect Gonzalez are peacefully expressing the voice and will of the Venezuelan people as hundreds of thousands demonstrate against the regime,” President-elect Trump wrote. . society of truth.
“The great Venezuelan-American community in the United States overwhelmingly supports a free Venezuela and has strongly supported me. These freedom fighters should not be harmed, safe and alive. You have to!” he continued.
Amid the unrest, accounts associated with Venezuelan state media and the Maduro regime have been banned on both social media and messaging platforms. spread A video of Machado appearing in an undisclosed plaza and claiming to be “safe” there. Many observers doubted the authenticity of the video due to the fact that it was first released by administration officials.
“I'm okay, I'm safe. Today, January 9th, we left a great gathering. I was chased, I dropped my wallet, the blue wallet that belonged to me fell on the road, but now It's okay, it's safe, and Venezuela will be free,” Machado said.
Magali Meda, wanted Venezuelan dissident evacuate Since March, the Argentine embassy in Caracas has denounced the regime, explain It was revealed via social media that Machado was thrown off his bike, forcibly taken away, and forced to film “several videos” before being released.
Hours later, Machado tweeted that she was now in a “safe place” and would reveal what happened on Thursday. Machado had not released any new public statements as of press time.
Several Maduro government officials have denied involvement in the incident. Minister of the Interior and Suspect drug lord Diosdado Cabello claimed at a government rally that this was all “a fabrication, a lie” and that Machado “hopes we'll get her.”
“They wanted to put all of Venezuela on alert, but they ended up lying and saying that the government had captured Maria Colina, and it ended up being ridiculous and ridiculous,” Cabello said. said.
Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab also dismissed Machado's brief abduction, claiming it was part of a “psychological operation” aimed at “unleashing violence” in Venezuela before Maduro's inauguration on Friday. did.
Saab argued that Thursday's events could be considered a “simulation of a punitive event” in which a “false” report was made that Machado was “intercepted and detained.”
“This woman is a repeat offender of this kind of theater who tries to victimize her when her macabre intentions fail,” Saab told officials. statement. “Her social narcissism, exacerbated by her desire for attention, indicates that she suffers from borderline or borderline personality disorder (BPD).”
Christian K. Caruso is a Venezuelan writer who chronicles life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
