FILE PHOTO: Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro delivers a speech during a meeting of leaders of the member states of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America and the Treaty of Commerce and Promotion (ALBA-TCP), in Caracas, Venezuela December 14, 2024. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/File Photo
CARACAS/MARACAY (Reuters) -Venezuela opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was detained at a march in Caracas on Thursday in her first public appearance in months and her ally, former presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez, demanded she be freed immediately.
Machado's detention is by far the most significant in a series of arrests of opposition figures after a disputed July election and bodes badly for Gonzalez's promised return to the country ahead of the Friday inauguration of President Nicolas Maduro for a third term.
Earlier, Machado's Vente Venezuela movement said she was "violently intercepted" leaving a march in eastern Caracas, and that the motorcycle caravan in which she was riding had been shot at.
The opposition are protesting around the country in an eleventh-hour effort to put pressure on Maduro.
Both the opposition and the ruling party claim to have won last year's presidential election.
The country's electoral authority and top court say Maduro, whose time in office has been marked by a deep economic and social crisis, won the July vote, though they have never published detailed tallies.
The government, who has accused the opposition of fomenting fascist plots against it, has said it will arrest Gonzalez should he return to the country and has detained prominent opposition members and activists in the lead-up to the inauguration.
Gonzalez, 75, has been on a tour of the Americas this week and met with U.S. President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump's national security advisor.
The White House and U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment on reports of Machado's arrest.
Venezuela's Ministry of Information did not immediately respond to questions about Machado's whereabouts, while the attorney general said in a message to Reuters he would not be commenting.
"Whatever they do, tomorrow they will finally bury themselves," Machado said during the protest. "Let no one be in doubt, what they do tomorrow marks the end of the regime."
Machado's appearance marked her first public outing since August when she went into hiding at an unknown location.
Machado, 57, had urged protesters to peacefully flood the streets and repeatedly asked members of the police and military - who guarded polling stations during the election - to back Gonzalez's victory.
"I'm not afraid, I lost my fear a long time ago," said 70-year-old Neglis Payares, a retired central bank worker, as she gathered with other opposition supporters in western Caracas in the morning.
Reuters witnesses estimated some 7,000 people had gathered in Caracas by around 2:20 p.m. local time. In the days after the election, thousands also took to the streets.
Maduro, 62, has been in power since 2013. He has the vociferous support of leaders in the armed forces and the intelligence services, which are run by close allies of powerful Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello.
'WE HAVE NO WORK'
Security forces set up checkpoints around the country.
In the western oil city of Maracaibo, an opposition protest of dozens of people was quickly dispersed by motorcycle-mounted security forces by late morning. In central Valencia, protesters gathered at another location after initially being met with tear gas.
Opposition supporters also gathered in San Cristobal, near the border with Colombia, in the western city of Barquisimeto and in eastern Puerto Ordaz.
"I'm here because we need to get rid of this government. We have no money, we have no work," 62-year-old housewife Roisa Gomez said at a protest in the central city of Maracay. "They cannot steal the election."
Soon afterward, security forces used tear gas to disperse the Maracay protesters.
Many of the demonstrators were of retirement age and said they wanted change so their migrant children and grandchildren would return to the country. More than 7 million Venezuelans live abroad.
The ruling party was holding rival marches nationwide, images of which were broadcast on state television.
"We've come out to show that there is a democracy. On this side are the patriots who will be sworn in with Nicolas (Maduro), on the other side are fascists who want (foreign) intervention, war, to sell their country," said 50-year-old Caracas motorcycle taxi driver Manual Rincon.
Gonzalez has repeatedly pledged to return to Venezuela but given no details about how. An arrest warrant was issued for him for alleged conspiracy, prompting his September flight to Spain.
Machado is being investigated by the attorney general in at least two cases, but no warrant for her has been made public.
The government has detained several high-profile politicians and activists, including a former presidential candidate. This week, the attorney general's office said it had freed more than 1,500 of the 2,000 people, including teenagers, detained during post-election protests.
Venezuelans living abroad also held protests, including in Madrid, where Gonzalez's daughter Carolina Gonzalez spoke to hundreds of demonstrators.
"My dad sends a hug to all of you, glory to the brave people of Venezuela," she said, her voice breaking.
(Reporting by Vivian Sequera, Mayela Armas and Deisy Buitrago in Caracas and Mircely Guanipa in Maracay; Additional reporting by Mariela Nava in Maracaibo, Tathiana Oriz in San Cristobal, Kerne Torres in Barquisimeto, Maria Ramirez in Puerto Ordaz, Tibisay Romero in Valencia, Leonardo Fernandez Viloria in Caracas and Corina Pons in Madrid; Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb and Oliver Griffin; Editing by Rosalba O'Brien and Daniel Wallis)
