Lee este artículo en español
Juan Pablo Guanipa, a leading figure in Venezuela’s opposition, was kidnapped by heavily armed assailants Sunday night shortly after his release from prison, according to his family and several political allies.
Guanipa, leader of the conservative Primero Justicia party, was one of several high-profile political prisoners released on Sunday as part of Caracas’ latest efforts to meet U.S. demands following Washington’s ouster of strongman leader Nicolas Maduro.
But Guanipa, 61, was later snatched by a group of men in the Los Choros neighborhood of Caracas, said Maria Colina Machado, a Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel laureate who has not visited the country.
“Heavily armed men in plain clothes arrived in four cars and took him away by force,” she told X.
Guanipa’s son Ramon said in the video that his father was “ambushed” at a late-night event “by about 10 operatives who had no identification whatsoever.”
“They pointed guns at me, heavily armed me, and took my father away,” he said, demanding to see proof that his father was still alive.
Guanipa’s Primero Justicia party also accused the Caracas government of being behind the kidnappings. “We hold (Interim President) Delcy Rodríguez, (President of the National Assembly) Jorge Rodríguez and (Interior Minister) Diosdado Cabello responsible for endangering the life of Juan Pablo,” the statement said.
After President Maduro was captured by U.S. special forces last month, former vice president Rodríguez assumed leadership with the blessing of the Trump administration, on the condition that Caracas accede to a number of U.S. demands ranging from access to oil to the release of political prisoners.
Mr. Guanipa was released early Sunday night after more than eight months in prison.
Immediately after leaving the Caracas detention center, Guanipa uploaded a video to social media declaring: “Today we are released. We should always keep the truth at the forefront and have many conversations about Venezuela’s present and future.”
Mr. Guanipa was arrested in May 2025 following claims by Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, without evidence, that he was involved in a “terrorist” plot against local and parliamentary elections. Mr. Guanipa has repeatedly denied the accusations.
Machado celebrated the news of his release earlier Sunday. “Dear Juan Pablo, I’m counting down the hours until I can hold you! You are a hero and history will always recognize that,” she wrote on social media.
Another Machado ally, lawyer Perkins Rocha, was also released on Sunday, but with strict restrictions, according to his wife, Maria Constanza.
Alfredo Romero, head of the human rights group Foro Penal, said Sunday that he had confirmed the release of at least 30 political prisoners.
Others released include Luis Somaza, a member of the Popular Will party, and Jesús Armas, an activist and former opposition lawmaker.
Venezuelan opposition groups and human rights groups have long accused the country’s dictatorial regime of using arbitrary arrests to suppress opposition. The Foro Prison Service estimates that hundreds more political prisoners remain in prison.
The government denies detaining people for political reasons and claims those in prison have committed crimes.
Sunday’s release came days after Venezuelan National Assembly Speaker Jorge Rodriguez promised relatives of political prisoners that “all detainees” would be released. Rodriguez, the younger brother of acting President Delcy Rodriguez, said the process would be completed “at the latest by Friday, February 13.”
His announcement came as the Socialist proxy government is developing an amnesty bill that could lead to the mass release of prisoners of war, some of whom have been held since 1999, when strongman Hugo Chávez took power, as a first step toward what officials call national reconciliation.
Days after the US detained Maduro, the government announced the release of “a significant number of people,” but human rights groups and families believe the pace of releases is slow.
According to Foro Penal, more than 380 people have been released from prison so far, and the government claims to have released more than 800 people.
