Venezuela’s top prosecutor said on Monday that his office had requested the arrest of one of the closest allies of opposition leader María Corina Machado, less than 12 hours after his release from a detention facility as part of a government move to free those facing politically motivated accusations.
The attorney general’s statement did not say whether Juan Pablo Guanipa was rearrested, or give indication of his whereabouts. The government had released him along with several other prominent opposition members on Sunday following lengthy politically motivated detentions.
Attorney General Tarek William 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.”
It did not elaborate on what conditions Guanipa, a former governor for the opposition, violated during the hours he was free, but said authorities were seeking house arrest.
Guanipa’s son, Ramón, told reporters Monday that a group of men in three vehicles intercepted his father and others traveling around 11:45 p.m. Sunday in a neighborhood in the capital, Caracas. They were armed with long guns and wore civilian clothes and bulletproof vests.
Ramón Guanipa said authorities have not yet notified him of his father’s whereabouts and their decision to place him on house arrest. He said his father did not violate the two conditions of his release — monthly check-ins with a court and no travel outside Venezuela — and showed reporters the court document listing them.
Prisoners Released
The development marked the latest twist in the political turmoil 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 in a stunning operation that landed them in New York to face federal drug trafficking charges.
The government of Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez began releasing prisoners days after she was sworn in and has faced mounting pressure to free hundreds of people whose detentions months or years ago have been linked to their political activities.
The releases also followed a visit to Venezuela of representatives of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.
AP.