Venezuelan opposition politician Juan Pablo Guanipa has returned home after being captured by security forces on Sunday - but is under house arrest, his son has said.
Ramón Guanipa stated that while his family was relieved, his father remained unjustly imprisoned. Opposition leader María Corina Machado revealed that Guanipa had been apprehended in Caracas by heavily armed men, shortly after he and other political prisoners had been released.
The country's Interior and Justice Minister Diosdado Cabello later confirmed that a person was rearrested for violating the conditions under which he was freed. Cabello remarked, Some politicians believed they could do whatever they wanted.\
Guanipa, who spent eight months in prison following accusations of terrorism and treason over his challenges to the 2024 election results, was among those released amid rising tensions since U.S. actions against President Nicolás Maduro in January.
Interviewed by the BBC, Ramón explained that his father had initially been released at about 11:00 local time (15:00 GMT) and had spent time with families waiting for the release of other political prisoners, only to be kidnapped later by unidentified security forces.
After being informed that his father would be placed under house arrest, Ramón confirmed on social media that Guanipa was at their home in Maracaibo, asserting, My father remains unjustly imprisoned, as house arrest is still imprisonment. We demand his full freedom, as well as the freedom of all political prisoners.\
Guanipa’s party, Justice First, has raised alarms about the detention of political prisoners, calling for the international community to act against the government’s repressive measures.
As Venezuela continues to face political unrest and human rights concerns, the treatment of opposition figures like Guanipa raises urgent questions about the state of democracy in the country.
