BTN News: Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has raised alarms following the arrest of her security chief, Milciades Ávila, just 11 days before the presidential election scheduled for July 28. This arrest adds to the troubling pattern of detentions targeting her campaign team, with over a hundred members reportedly detained this year. Machado described the incident as part of a broader crackdown orchestrated by President Nicolás Maduro’s government to stifle opposition efforts.
Milciades Ávila, a former police officer who has been with Machado for a decade, was detained under accusations of gender-based violence. Machado took to social media platform X to declare that Ávila had been “kidnapped by the regime.” She warned the international community about what she perceives as an escalating wave of repression targeting her campaign staff and supporters across the country.
Authorities have yet to comment on Ávila’s arrest, which Machado linked to a recent altercation involving opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González. The incident occurred at a sandwich shop in La Victoria, central-northern Venezuela, following a campaign rally. According to Machado, a group of female Chavismo activists sought to confront González and his team. Videos circulating on social media show the confrontation, after which the local mayor awarded honors to the women involved and shut down the sandwich shop, mirroring actions taken against other businesses that have supported the opposition leader.
Machado accused Maduro of orchestrating the incident to undermine her security arrangements in the critical days leading up to the election. “That act was a premeditated provocation to leave us without protection,” she asserted. “Maduro has turned violence and repression into his campaign strategy.”
Three days prior, the opposition reported nine additional detentions across four states, all linked to Machado’s campaign. Vente Venezuela, Machado’s political party, stated that police officers forcefully entered the home where Ávila was staying, violating legal protocols.
The human rights organization Foro Penal, which advocates for political prisoners, reported that they have documented 102 arrests related to the opposition’s campaign efforts. Gonzalo Himiob, the director of Foro Penal, highlighted a consistent pattern of actions against activists, militants, and even volunteers associated with the opposition.
President Maduro, who is seeking a third six-year term, frequently claims that the opposition is plotting to overthrow his government. This latest series of arrests and confrontations underscores the intense and often dangerous political climate in Venezuela as the election approaches.
The international community continues to watch closely as the situation unfolds, with concerns about the fairness and freedom of the electoral process mounting.
