Venezuela: Maduro's regime kidnaps María Corina Machado's security chief

Nicolás Maduro has not ceased in his efforts to silence the Venezuelan opposition. The latest retaliation was the arrest of opposition leader María Corina Machado's head of security, Milciades Ávila. He was taken from his home, and his whereabouts are unknown.

"María Corina Machado's chief of protection, Milciades Ávila, has been kidnapped. Today at dawn, officials of the regime forcibly entered the house where he was, violating all legal procedures," said Vente Venezuela in a message posted on X.

The situation comes at a time when NGOs have noted that the persecution by the Venezuelan regime against the opposition is on the rise. There are currently more than 300 political prisoners in Venezuela. Just hours before Ávila's case became known, the Venezuelan Penal Forum, which keeps a registry of political prisoners, alerted that so far in 2024, there have been 114 arbitrary arrests for political purposes.

Of those cases, 102 arrests are related to the team or tours of María Corina Machado and the opposition presidential candidate, Edmundo González. 

Venezuelan Penal Forum Director Alfredo Romero highlighted that in only 10 days during the official campaign for the presidential election, at least 77 arrests have been registered.

"In total there are 114, minus 12 people who are not directly related to that opposition group, or that campaign, or that national tour of the Unitary Platform," said Romero in a statement published on the official page of the NGO.

Meanwhile, the White House called for the immediate release of Ávila and all political prisoners. "The arrests without due process are contrary to the spirit of the October 2023 electoral roadmap agreement signed in Barbados between the Unitary Platform and representatives of Nicolás Maduro," a State Department spokesman said in a message sent to CNN.

In addition, the State Department insisted that the Biden administration will continue to push for political change in the country.

"We will continue to support the aspiration of Venezuelans for a more democratic, stable and prosperous country. We will also work with our partners to defend a democratic process as it offers the best hope for Venezuela to address a decades-long political, economic and humanitarian crisis," the department stressed.