A key figure in the Venezuelan opposition, Juan Pablo Guanipa, was arrested by heavily armed men Sunday night, according to his supporters, just hours after being released from prison where he had been held as a political prisoner.
Family and political allies of Guanipa stated he had been “kidnapped” by a group of men and accused the Caracas regime of being responsible.
The prosecutor’s office later confirmed it had requested Guanipa be placed under house arrest, alleging a violation of the conditions of his release.
Guanipa, a leader of the conservative Primero Justicia party, was among several high-profile political prisoners released Sunday, in the government’s latest effort to meet U.S. Demands for the release of those detained for political reasons.
But he was subsequently intercepted by a group of men in the Los Chorros neighborhood of Caracas, according to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, who is currently outside the country.
“Heavily armed men, dressed in civilian clothes, arrived in 4 vehicles, and violently took him away,” she said on X.
In a video posted on social media, Juan Pablo Guanipa’s son, Ramón, said his father was at an event at 11:45 p.m. When he was “ambushed by approximately 10 agents who had no identification.”
“They pointed their weapons at him, they were heavily armed, and they took my father,” he said, before demanding proof that his father was still alive.
The Primero Justicia party, to which Guanipa belongs, accused the Caracas regime of being behind the kidnapping. “We hold (acting President) Delcy Rodríguez, (National Assembly President) Jorge Rodríguez and (Interior Minister) Diosdado Cabello responsible for any harm to Juan Pablo,” the party declared in a statement.
Guanipa had been released earlier Sunday after more than eight months in prison.
Shortly after leaving a detention center in Caracas, Guanipa uploaded a video to social media stating: “Today we are being released. Much to discuss about the present and future of Venezuela, always with the truth ahead.”
Guanipa was arrested in May 2025, following claims by Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, made without evidence, that he was involved in an alleged plot of “terror” against regional and legislative elections. Guanipa has repeatedly denied the accusation.
Machado celebrated the news of his release earlier Sunday. “My dear Juan Pablo, I count the minutes until I can embrace you! You are a hero and history will always recognize it,” she wrote on social media.
Another of Machado’s allies, lawyer Perkins Rocha, was also released Sunday, but under strict restrictions, according to his wife, María Constanza.
The human rights group Foro Penal said it had confirmed that at least 30 political prisoners were released by Venezuela on Sunday, according to the group’s director, Alfredo Romero.
Other released prisoners include Luis Somaza, a member of the Voluntad Popular party, and Jesús Armas, an activist and former opposition councilman.
The Venezuelan opposition and human rights groups have long accused the country’s authoritarian regime of using arbitrary detentions to repress dissent. Foro Penal estimates that hundreds of additional political prisoners remain behind bars.
The government has denied holding people in prison for political reasons, arguing that those in prison have committed crimes.
Sunday’s releases come days after the President of the Venezuelan National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, promised the families of political prisoners that “all detainees” would be released. Rodríguez, brother of acting President Delcy Rodríguez, said the process would be completed “no later than” Friday, February 13th.
His announcement comes as the socialist government advances with an amnesty law project that could lead to the massive release of prisoners, some of whom have been detained since 1999, when leader Hugo Chávez came to power, as a first step towards what authorities describe as national reconciliation.
Although the government announced the release of “a significant number of people” days after the United States captured President Nicolás Maduro, human rights groups and families believe the pace of releases has been slow.
So far, more than 380 people have been released from prison, according to Foro Penal, while the government claims to have released more than 800.
