On Thursday afternoon, María Corina Machado announced through social media the release of her security chief, Milciades Ávila, who had been arrested on Wednesday at his home in Venezuela.
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“At this moment we have just received at our headquarters our colleague Milciades Ávila who received a precautionary measure of presentation at the Maracay court every 30 days, as a result of the presentation hearing held this afternoon,” Machado wrote through his account on X.
The opposition leader described the case as a “kidnapping” after stating that the authorities entered Ávila’s house by force, “violating legal procedures.”
“Thank you to everyone who, with their support, helped make this first step towards reversing this injustice possible,” the opposition leader added.
Ávila is in charge of ensuring the security of the opposition during the electoral campaign, in which Machado heads the activities, in various states of the country, of the standard-bearer of the majority opposition – Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD) -, Edmundo González Urrutia.
In fact, earlier this Thursday morning, July 18, Machado denounced an attack against her and her team, just 10 days before the presidential elections in Venezuela, scheduled for next Sunday, July 28.
Machado reported that the vehicles in which they were traveling were vandalized and their brakes cut. This allegedly occurred in the early morning, when they were in Lara state, after their tour of Portuguesa state.
Machado explained, through X, that “agents of the regime” followed his caravan from the state of Portuguesa, where he had led a campaign activity in support of the opposition candidate for the presidential elections on July 28, Edmundo González Urrutia, and “surrounded the residential area” where they spent the night.
Other arrests
Despite this release, the arrest of Regulo Reina, a Venezuelan union leader, was also announced on Thursday. The complaint was made by the former governor of Táchira, César Pérez, who posted a video of Reina’s arrest on social media.
“At this moment, the State Terrorism applied by Nicolás Maduro is evident. This is how PoliMonagas acted a few moments ago when he arrested the union and social leader #ReguloReina in Temblador. One of the officers says: ‘shoot him and kill him so that the problem ends’ (sic).”
Venezuelan authorities have arrested 102 people linked to González Urrutia’s campaign this year, and Ávila has now been added to the list, the NGO Foro Penal reported on Tuesday.
Of the 102 arrests – some for a few hours and others with imprisonment to date – 77 occurred since the formal start of the campaign on July 4, reflecting “a clear pattern of action against activists, militants, even collaborators or people who provide services” to González Urrutia and Machado, said Gonzalo Himiob, director of the Penal Forum.
In addition to González Urrutia, nine other candidates will compete for the presidency in the elections on July 28, including Maduro, who will seek his third term.
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