Venezuela rearrests opposition figure Guanipa after release: Prosecutor

Public prosecutor says Guanipa placed under house arrest, as opposition figure’s son, allies decry ‘kidnapping’.Published On 9 Feb 2026Venezuela’s public prosecutor’s office has said opposition figure Juan Pablo Guanipa has been rearrested shortly after his release.In a statement on Monday, the office said 61-year-old Guanipa, an ally of Nobel laureate Maria Corina Machado, had not complied with the terms of his release on Sunday, without elaborating.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Venezuela passes amnesty bill for political prisoners in first of two voteslist 2 of 3Thousands march in Venezuela to demand US free President Maduro, wifelist 3 of 3From blackouts to food shortages: How US blockade is crippling life in Cubaend of listIt said Guanipa, accused of leading a “terrorist” plot, has been put under house arrest “in order to safeguard the criminal process”.Guanipa, who was vice president of Venezuela’s National Assembly, was first arrested in May 2025 after months in hiding. His release on Sunday made him one of hundreds of political prisoners freed since January 8, when the government, under pressure from the United States, announced a new series of releases.The release of political prisoners comes weeks after President Nicolas Maduro was abducted by the US forces in a military operation in Caracas and taken to the US. Maduro has since been indicted on drug and gun charges. He has pleaded not guilty.‘Kidnapped’Guanipa’s son, Ramon, referred to his father’s seizure on Monday as an “abduction”, saying a group of about 10 unidentified, armed people had taken him. “We demand immediate proof of life and his release,” said Ramon in a message shared on his father’s X page.Machado also claimed Guanipa had been “kidnapped” and that the incident happened in Caracas’s Los Chorros neighbourhood. In a message of support for her ally on X, Machado demanded Guanipa’s “immediate release”.Hours earlier, newly freed Guanipa had posted several videos to social media in which he addressed a crowd of journalists and ‌supporters, urging the release of other political prisoners and calling the current administration illegitimate.