Venezuela’s top prosecutor ordered the arrest of opposition leader María Corina Machado’s ally Juan Pablo Guanipa less than half a day after Guanipa was released from detention, the attorney general’s office said Monday. Tarek William Saab’s office said it had requested that a competent court revoke the precautionary measure granted to Guanipa, and that it sought house arrest. The prosecutor’s statement did not say whether Guanipa was rearrested or where he was being held.
Saab’s office posted on social media that it had “requested the competent court to revoke the precautionary measure granted to Juan Pablo Guanipa, due to his non-compliance with the conditions imposed by the aforementioned court.” The attorney general’s office did not specify which of the conditions it said Guanipa breached during the hours he was free, but it said authorities were seeking house arrest as the next step.
Ramón Guanipa, Juan Pablo Guanipa’s son, told reporters Monday that a group of men in three vehicles intercepted his father and others shortly after 11:45 p.m. Sunday in a neighborhood in Caracas. Ramón Guanipa said the men were armed with long guns, wore civilian clothes, and used bulletproof vests. He said authorities had not yet notified him of his father’s whereabouts or the decision to put him under house arrest.
Ramón Guanipa said his father did not violate the two conditions of his release: monthly check-ins with the court and no travel outside Venezuela. He said he showed reporters the court document that listed the conditions, after the renewed legal action by Saab’s office.
The developments came amid a broader political shakeup in Venezuela. In the wake of the U.S. military’s seizure on Jan. 3 of then-President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, from a military base compound in Caracas—an operation that landed them in New York to face federal drug trafficking charges—Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez began releasing prisoners in steps, according to the report.
The attorney general’s move against a Machado ally followed earlier releases in the days after Rodríguez was sworn in, amid pressure from human rights groups and international attention. The report said the release efforts also followed a visit to Venezuela by representatives of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Foro Penal, a Venezuela-based prisoners’ rights group, confirmed the release of at least 30 people Sunday. Some of those freed joined families waiting outside detention facilities; they chanted “We are not afraid! We are not afraid!” and marched a short distance.
Juan Pablo Guanipa’s release also drew political messaging from Machado and her circle. After his release, Guanipa told reporters, “I am convinced that our country has completely changed,” adding, “I am convinced that it is now up to all of us to focus on building a free and democratic country.” Ramón Guanipa said his father did not belong in a criminal case simply for speaking, saying, “My father cannot be a criminal … simply for making statements,” and asking, “How much longer will speaking out be a crime in this country?”
Machado, speaking Monday in Washington, said “They are terrified that Venezuelan society will mobilize and express its voice civically,” referring to Rodríguez’s government. She added that “there’s no going back” and described Guanipa’s situation as symbolic of the stakes, saying, “What will Juan Pablo become now? What will Perkins become as a prisoner in his own home? A reference in this fight.”
The report said Guanipa had been detained in late May and accused by Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello of involvement in an alleged “terrorist group” that was plotting to boycott that month’s legislative election. Guanipa’s brother Tomás rejected the accusation, saying the arrest was intended to crack down on dissent.
Rodríguez’s government announced Jan. 8 that it would free a significant number of people arrested over politically related cases, but families and rights watchdogs have criticized authorities for delays in carrying out releases. The ruling party-controlled National Assembly has been debating an amnesty bill that could lead to the release of hundreds, and the opposition and nongovernmental organizations have responded with cautious optimism along with requests for more information about the bill’s contents.
In recent days, National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez posted a video on Instagram showing him outside a detention center in Caracas and said “everyone” would be released no later than next week after the amnesty bill is approved. Separately, Delcy Rodríguez and Volker Türk, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, spoke by phone in late January, and Türk’s spokesperson, Ravina Shamdasani, said in a statement that he sent a team to Venezuela to support a road map for dialogue and reconciliation with human rights centered.