(9 Jan 2025)
Clients note: This item contains on-screen graphics, including AP branding.
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
++UPDATES HEADLINE AND STORYLINE++
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Caracas, Venezuela – 09 January 2025
1. Maria Corina Machado, Venezuelan Opposition Leader speaking
2. Various of Machado, wearing helmet and jacket, walking and then boarding motorcycle
3. Motorcycle driver hitting photographer
4. Various of opposition rally
STORYLINE:
Venezuelan Opposition Leader Maria Corina Machado was seen exiting an anti-government protest in Caracas on Thursday before her team reported her arrest by security forces.
Moments later there were official denials of her arrest, in a confusing episode that capped a day of protests seeking to block President Nicolás Maduro from clinging to power.
It remained unclear what exactly happened after Machado bid farewell to hundreds of supporters, hopped on a motorcycle and raced with her security convoy down a main Caracas avenue.
At 3:21 p.m. local time, Machado’s press team said in a social media post that security forces “violently intercepted” her convoy.
Her aides later told The Associated Press that she had been detained, and international condemnation poured in from leaders in Latin America and beyond, demanding her release.
But about an hour later, a proof-of-life, 20-second video of Machado emerged online in which she says she was followed after leaving the “wonderful” rally and had dropped her purse.
Her aides later claimed in a social media post that the video message had been coerced, and that after recording it, she was freed. They said she would provide details of her “kidnapping” later.
In recent years, the word kidnapping has been associated with the government practice of detaining real or perceived opponents without following the law.
It’s seen as part of a campaign to repress anti-government protests that broke out after the election results were announced.
Late Thursday, Machado in a post on X said she was “in a safe place and with more determination than ever” to continue her effort to get Maduro out of office. She also said that a person was shot "when the repressive forces of the regime arrested me.”
The Associated Press was unable to contact Machado for clarification of her statement. She told supporters she would explain the day’s events in more detail on Friday.
Meanwhile, Maduro’s supporters denied Machado had been detained, claiming that government opponents were trying to spread fake news to generate an international crisis.
The protests were taking place a day before the ruling party-controlled National Assembly is scheduled to swear in Maduro to a third six-year term despite credible evidence that he lost the presidential election.
===========================================================
Clients are reminded to adhere to all listed restrictions and to check the terms of their licence agreements. For further assistance, please contact the AP Archive on: Tel +44(0)2074827482 Email: info@aparchive.com.
Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/
You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/a3b96dea8c864ad6bbf103125040e5a7
Author: AP Archive
Go to Source
News post in January 14, 2025, 9:05 pm.
Visit Our Sponsor’s:
News Post In – News
