Maria Corina Machado’s head of protection was arrested

• Vente Venezuela reported the arrest through its social networks

The political party Vente Venezuela reported that during the early hours of Wednesday, July 17, officials from state security forces arrested the head of protection for opposition leader María Corina Machado, Milciades Ávila, while he was at his home.

“Milciades Ávila, head of protection for María Corina Machado, kidnapped,” the organization wrote on its X account (Twitter).

María Corina Machado spoke out on social media to indicate that Ávila has been part of her team for 10 years. She added that she has accompanied her on tours in the interior of the country and said that she has risked her life to defend her. Machado warned of an escalation of repression once morest members linked to her political cause.

Ávila is reportedly being accused of gender violence for the events that took place on Saturday, July 13, when a group of government supporters approached a business in La Encrucijada, Aragua state, to insult Machado and the candidate Edmundo González Urrutia.

The leader of Vente Venezuela denied the alleged crime of which her protection chief is accused and claimed that there are witnesses and videos that prove that the acts of aggression were a “planned” action.

This morning (Ávila) was kidnapped by the regime. I hold Nicolás Maduro responsible for his physical integrity and that of the other 24 people from our teams who were kidnapped and are now prisoners of the tyranny,” the leader wrote on her X account.

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Milciades Avila

Delsa Solórzano, president of the Encuentro Ciudadano party, said that the Venezuelan government continues to perpetrate “a siege” once morest María Corina Machado’s team. The leader repudiated the arrest and mentioned that it occurs 11 days before the presidential elections in the country, scheduled for July 28.

The former opposition mayor of Caracas, Antonio Ledezma, also spoke out regarding the incident on his social media to demand Ávila’s release. The same was done by the Vente Venezuela Human Rights team.

Andrea Pichardo, leader of the Voluntad Popular party, warned that there is a form of persecution by the Venezuelan government once morest the campaign team of Machado and Gonzalez.

“This is an unprecedented campaign that has been based on a pattern of persecution that has no place in what should be a democratic system,” Pichardo said.

Venezuelan politician Henrique Capriles condemned the fact that the arrest of María Corina Machado’s head of protection was carried out without respecting due process.

“We condemn this new illegal action, which is added to a long list of persecutions, harassment and arrests. Eleven days before the election, those who intend to stay in power continue trying to spread terror in the run-up to July 28,” said the former presidential candidate.

Miguel Pizarro, a former member of the National Assembly, agreed that the Venezuelan government is taking actions to “increase the repressive escalation” in the country.

For its part, the human rights organization Un Mundo Sin Mordaza condemned the arrest of Milciades Ávila and also stated that the procedure was carried out without a court order.

“(A World Without Gags) urges the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, the IACHR and other international organizations responsible for the protection of human rights to take note of the matter and condemn this new aggression,” the NGO added on its X account.

Increase in politically motivated arrests in Venezuela

Photo: Adriana Nunez

On July 16, the non-governmental organization (NGO) Foro Penal warned regarding a Increase in the registration of political prisoners in Venezuela. Alfredo Romero, president of the NGO, indicated that there are 301 people detained for this reason in the country.

Romero said that at least 102 of the arrests of citizens are related to María Corina Machado’s team.

“This week, 11 people were arrested, which is a significant number, and it seems that the arrests will continue,” Romero said at a press conference offered to the media.

The lawyer said that of the 301 political prisoners, 93 have not completed their judicial proceedings and are awaiting possible preventive measures for freedom.

Romero clarified that, of the total number of political prisoners in the country, there are currently 152 military personnel and 149 civilians. Of this number, 27 are women and 274 are men.

Foro Penal stressed that those who imprison them in this way have their human rights violated.

Recent cases of arrests in Venezuela

On July 14, Foro Penal denounced the arrest of singer Wilmer Ramón Álvarez Vargas, known as Willy Alvarezat a checkpoint of the Bolivarian National Guard (GNB) in Táchira state.

Álvarez is the author of a song to liven up the campaign events of the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) and was charged with the crime of resisting authority.

On July 13, the NGO confirmed that three people were arrested in Carabobo state for political reasons. The first two were identified as Elisaul Rodríguez and Miere Eduardo Aguilar, who provided logistics for the truck that transported Machado and candidate Edmundo González Urrutia during the mobilization in the state. The last citizen has not been identified.

For his part, the director of the Penal Forum, Gonzalo Himiob, said that they received the report of the arrest of opposition political activists in Guanare, Portuguesa state.

On July 13, María Oropeza, state coordinator of Vente Venezuela in that entity, reported that police officers raided the home of Mary Rodríguez, campaign director of the Capital Guanare parish.

Rodríguez was arrested along with Mayra Montilla, who is also part of María Corina Machado’s campaign.

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