Venezuela’s opposition-controlled National Assembly speaker Juan Guaido was allowed to walk free after brief detention on Sunday, according to the TN news website. The speaker was detained en route to the northern coastal town of Caraballeda near Caracas. He was reportedly released less than an hour later.
Earlier in the day, it was reported that Guaido had been detained by the country's intelligence agents, two days after he was declared the interim President of Venezuela by the disempowered National Assembly.
#DENUNCIA
— Juan Guaidó (@jguaido) 13 января 2019 г.
Alertamos al mundo y al país que hoy #13Ene un comando del SEBIN interceptó al Presidente de la Asamblea Nacional de Venezuela @jguaido y desconocemos su paradero.
"Alert the world and the country that today # 13Ene a SEBIN command intercepted the President of the National Assembly of Venezuela @jguaido and we do not know his whereabouts," a message on Guaidó's official Twitter account read.
International Reaction
Later in the day, Organization of American States (OAS) President Luis Almagro accused Venezuelan authorities of kidnapping Guaido.
"[We] totally condemn and reject the kidnapping of Venezuelan interim president Juan Guaido. The international community must stop the crimes of [Venezuelan President Nicolas] Maduro and his henchmen," Almagro tweeted.
Condena y rechazo absolutos al secuestro del Presidente interino de #Venezuela @jguaido. La comunidad internacional debe detener los crímenes de Maduro y sus esbirros #OEAconVzla
— Luis Almagro (@Almagro_OEA2015) 13 января 2019 г.
The Chilean government has criticized Venezuela after the arrest of Guaido.
"The government of Chile condemns in the strongest terms the arrest this morning for almost an hour of the president of the National Assembly," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The Argentinian Foreign Ministry has called on the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to refrain from intimidating opposition politicians and ensure their rights.
"The Argentinian government hopes that Maduro's regime will ensure civil and political liberties and freedom of movement of the Venezuelan opposition members as well as their physical integrity refraining from any acts of intimidation and persecution, similar to those suffered by the speaker of the National Assembly, the only legitimate body in this country," the ministry's statement read.
Maduro has faced criticism from a number of states after his re-election in May, with some countries claiming that the vote was illegitimate, something vehemently denied by Caracas.
Earlier in January, the Peruvian Foreign Ministry said following the meeting of the Lima Group foreign ministers that the union did not recognize the legitimacy of Maduro's new presidential term that will begin on January 10 and urged him to call a new presidential election.
