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.

Armenia and the United States agreed on Monday to cooperate in the civil nuclear sector as Washington sought to bolster ties with a former close ally of Russia, months after Washington brokered a peace agreement in the South Caucasus.

A statement on the nuclear sector deal was signed by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who is on a two-day visit to the country.

The two said they had completed negotiations on what is known as a 123 Agreement, which allows the U.S. to legally license nuclear technology and equipment to other countries.

The agreement will allow up to $5 billion in initial U.S. exports to Armenia, plus an additional $4 billion in longer-term fuel and maintenance contracts, Vance said.

“This agreement will open a new chapter in the deepening energy partnership between Armenia and the United States,” Pashinyan said at a joint press conference with Vance.

Long heavily dependent on Russia and Iran for its energy supplies, Armenia is now reviewing proposals from U.S., Russian, Chinese, French and South Korean companies to construct a new nuclear reactor to replace its sole, ageing Russian-built nuclear power plant, Metsamor.

No choice has yet been made, but Monday’s announcement paves the way for an American project to be selected.

That would deal a blow to Russia, which traditionally has viewed the South Caucasus as its sphere of influence but whose clout there has diminished as a result of its invasion of Ukraine.

Deputy Russian Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin, interviewed lately, said a Russian proposal for a new nuclear plant was the best option and state nuclear corporation Rosatom was ready to proceed with it.

“Rosatom is ready to proceed very quickly with the implementation of this project, of course in accordance with the wishes of our Armenian friends,” Galuzin was quoted as saying.

“There are no real alternatives in terms of the availability of reliable, proven technologies, as well as the attractiveness of financial parameters.”

Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity

Vance’s visit comes just six months after the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders signed an agreement at the White House seen as the first step towards peace after nearly 40 years of war.

Vance was also seeking to advance the “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP)”, a proposed 43-kilometre (27-mile) corridor that would run across southern Armenia and give Azerbaijan a direct route to its exclave of Nakhchivan and in turn to Turkey, Baku’s close ally.

The route would better connect Asia to Europe while, crucially for Washington, bypassing Russia and Iran at a time when Western countries are keen on diversifying energy and trade routes away from Russia due to the Ukraine conflict.

The TRIPP corridor, which envisages new or updated rail infrastructure, oil and gas pipelines and fibre-optic cables, would transform the South Caucasus, a region riven by closed borders and longstanding ethnic conflicts.

Galuzin told Izvestia that Moscow was studying the TRIPP proposal. “We’re not just making peace for Armenia,” Vance said. “We’re also creating real prosperity for Armenia and the United States together.”

He is set to visit Azerbaijan on Wednesday and Thursday, according to the White House.

Reuters.