Four Venezuelan opposition members detained by authorities

According to local media, Venezuelan government security forces have detained at least four opposition members in recent hours, three of whom are prominent figures and one of whom has not been identified.

Several TV channels, including VPI TV, broadcast footage of the arrests on YouTube, showing alleged security officials, dressed in black and with no visible identification, intercepting and arresting opponents and then driving them away in cars.

One of those detained in Caracas was the leader of the Popular Will party and coordinator of the opposition movement In Venezuela, Freddy Superlano.

Also arrested in the Venezuelan capital were the youth coordinator of the Causa R party, Rafael Sivira, and another opposition representative, whose identity has not been disclosed.

On the Venezuelan island of Margarita, former Marcano Mayor Jose Ramon Diaz was arrested when he arrived at his residence in the city of Juan Griego.

Diaz’s arrest came after a night of protests involving a significant number of people, according to videos posted on social media, and the politician was taken to the local headquarters of the Scientific, Criminal and Criminal Investigation Corps (CICPC, formerly the Technical Police).

There is no official information about the reasons for the arrests of these people.

At least one person was killed and 46 others were detained, according to the NGO Foro Penal (FP).

Since Monday, demonstrations have been taking place in several cities in Venezuela against the official results of Sunday’s elections, published by the National Electoral Council.

On Monday, Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE) announced the re-election of Nicolás Maduro for a third consecutive term (2025-2031), with 51.2% of the vote.

According to official CNE data, the main opposition candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia, received 44.2%.

The Venezuelan opposition is claiming victory in Sunday’s presidential election with 70% of the vote for González Urrutia, opposition leader María Corina Machado said, refusing to accept the results announced by the CNE.

The opposition plans to hold protests in the country’s main cities today, on the same day that forces supporting President Nicolás Maduro take to the streets of the capital in Caracas to defend the results published by the CNE.

Several countries have already congratulated Maduro on his victory, such as Russia, Nicaragua, Cuba, China and Iran, but other states in the international community recognized as democratic have shown greater concern about the transparency of the elections in Venezuela, such as Portugal, Spain or the United States.

Nine Latin American countries – Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay – today called for a “complete review” of the election results in Venezuela, a country with a significant community of Portuguese and Portuguese descendants.