Machado’s appearance at the rally was her first public appearance in months, since a government crackdown on Venezeulan opposition figures and their supporters last year.

The brief arrest of Maria Corina Machado provoked swift condemnations from political leaders across the globe.

Venezuela’s popular opposition leader, María Corina Machado, was detained during an anti-government protest in Caracas on Thursday, according to a statement on X by her party, Vente Venezuela. Ms. Machado had been living in hiding amid threats of arrest from government officials, and this was her first public appearance since August.

Maria Corina Machado, the Venezuelan opposition leader, was ‘kidnapped’ from the streets on Thursday, her allies have said.

Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo González, who claims to have defeated President Nicolás Maduro in last year’s presidential election, says that his son-in-law has been kidnapped in Venezuela’s capital.

Aides to Venezuela opposition leader Maria Corina Machado say she was detained but they've been contradicted by authorities who accuse government opponents of trying to spark an international crisis

Aides to Maria Corina Machado say the Venezuela opposition leader has been arrested when her convoy was intercepted by security forces as it departed an anti-government protest in Caracas.