Venezuelan Opposition Leader Demands Update on Status of Nobel Laureate's Close Aide

Caracas.  Venezuelan exiled opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia on Monday demanded that the status of Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado's close associate be made public.

“Not knowing the whereabouts of Guanipa means he has been forcibly disappeared. We demand credible proof of his status immediately,” González Urrutia wrote on X.

Venezuelan authorities, who have been releasing political prisoners since the ousting of Nicolas Maduro on January 3, stated that the former Vice President of the National Assembly, Guanipa, was returned to custody before being placed under house arrest for allegedly violating the terms of his release.

Maduro, who has ruled Venezuela for over a decade, faces drug and arms trafficking charges in New York. He has consistently denied the US allegations that he is a leader of a drug cartel. His case is currently under trial.

Maduro's rule is considered the most difficult period in Venezuelan history. During his tenure, the country experienced a severe economic recession, hyperinflation, and extreme shortages of food and medicine, which reportedly forced millions of Venezuelan citizens to leave the country. Opposition figures and the international community have labeled him a ‘dictator,’ accusing him of electoral fraud and human rights violations.