Protests in Venezuela, opposition leader released after brief detention

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has been freed, her Vente Venezuela movement said, shortly after she was arrested amid gunfire as she left an anti-government protest east of Caracas.

Opposition protests took place across the country in a last-ditch effort to put pressure on President Nicolas Maduro ahead of his third inauguration.

Machado was arrested after making her first public appearance in months, prompting her ally, former presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez, to call for her immediate release. 

During her detention, Machado was forced to record several videos, the "Vente Venezuela" movement said in a statement published on social media, adding that it would provide more details in the coming hours.

Government officials, including Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, said her arrest was fabricated by the opposition in an attempt to boost support for her movement.

Both the opposition and the ruling party claim to have won last year's presidential election.

The shocking arrest prompted calls for her immediate release from governments and leaders in Latin America and beyond.

Machado, 57, is a hardline former lawmaker who stayed and fought against Maduro even after many of her allies in the opposition leadership left, joining an exodus of some 7 million Venezuelans who have fled the country. theirs in recent years.

Supporters of the incumbent who control the country's judiciary barred him from running against Maduro last year. In a deft move, she backed an unknown candidate, retired diplomat Edmundo González, who won over President Maduro by a more than two-to-one margin, according to data collected by the opposition and verified by international observers.

Edmundo González, who is abroad as Venezuela's president-elect, recognized by the United States and other countries, called for Ms. Machado's release.

However, President Maduro declared victory after the elections and is preparing for the start of his new term.

The United States and other governments have also recognized González as the president-elect of Venezuela. Many of Mr. Maduro's former leftist allies in Latin America are not expected to attend his swearing-in ceremony. VOA (A2 Televizion)