Prominent Venezuelan opposition politician Juan Pablo Guanipa, a close ally of Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado, is currently under house arrest in the city of Maracaibo, his son confirmed on Tuesday. Guanipa’s relocation to his family home comes just days after he was released from detention following more than eight months behind bars and then quickly taken back into custody. His family says he remains effectively imprisoned and have called for his full release, as well as that of other political prisoners in Venezuela.
Guanipa was freed from a Caracas detention centre on Sunday amid a broader series of releases by Venezuelan authorities under pressure from the United States, which has been pushing for the liberation of political detainees. However, hours after speaking to media and supporters, he was seized by unidentified armed men in Caracas and later placed under house arrest on the state’s grounds that he allegedly violated conditions of his release — a claim his supporters dispute.
The case has highlighted ongoing tensions in Venezuela’s political landscape following the controversial 2024 presidential vote and subsequent crackdowns on opposition figures. Critics and human rights groups argue that detentions are used by the government to suppress dissent, even amid signals of prisoner releases. Family members and allies have condemned Guanipa’s treatment as unjust and called for greater transparency and respect for political freedoms in the country.
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