Venezuela: Regime releases prominent opposition figure following request at US-led dialogue table

The regime in Venezuela released a former opposition mayor, Javier Oropeza, on Thursday night; he had been arrested hours earlier, after Dinorah Figuera, the head of the opposition delegation participating in negotiations with Delcy Rodríguez's interim government, demanded his release.

Oropeza, former mayor of the Torres municipality in the state of Lara, was arrested by several intelligence service police officers after giving an interview to the newspaper El Informador. The leader spent approximately six hours in court.

The arrest occurred on the same day that the political dialogue led by the president of the pro-government Parliament, Jorge Rodríguez, and the head of the opposition delegation, Dinorah Figuera, began.

"We immediately denounced the incident, demanded his release, and they have committed to taking all necessary steps to secure his imminent release," Figuera said in a message posted on X after learning of the arrest, before Oropeza was released.

The negotiations, sponsored by the United States, aim to advance toward a democratic transition in Venezuela. The agenda also includes the establishment of political and civil guarantees.

Two days after returning from exile

Oropeza had been back in Venezuela for just two days, after spending two years in exile in Spain.

According to the information provided, agents forcibly loaded him into an unmarked van.

"Where is Javier Oropeza? We are at the headquarters of the DIE [Strategic Intelligence Division] of the Bolivarian National Police demanding answers about his whereabouts," opposition leader Juan Pablo Guanipa reported earlier.