Juan Pablo Guanipa, a renowned leader of the Venezuelan opposition linked to María Corina Machado’s team, was released this Sunday afternoon after spending more than eight months in detention for political reasons.
“Here we are, being released after a year and a half, ten months in hiding, almost nine months detained here. Today we are being released. A lot to talk about the present and the future of Venezuela. Always with the truth ahead,” Guanipa said in a video published on his social networks.
The news of the release was also confirmed by his son, RamónGuanipa.
“After more than eight months of unjust imprisonment and more than a year and a half separated, our entire family will soon be able to hug each other again. There are still hundreds of Venezuelans unjustly imprisoned,” he expressed in his account on X.
The message was accompanied by requests for the release of the other opponents who remain in prison.
Guanipa, former deputy and former vice president of the National Assembly, was arrested in June 2025 as part of a wave of arrests against allies of María Corina Machado.His case was widely reported by national and international organizations, which identified him as a prisoner of conscience.
Machado celebrated the release of the national leader of the Primero Justicia party and recognized Guanipa’s resistance.
“My dear Juan Pablo, counting the minutes to hug you. You are a hero and history will always recognize it. Freedom for all political prisoners,” he expressed.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner reiterated the demand for the release of all people deprived of liberty for political reasons in Venezuela.
The opposition leader was arrested in the early hours of May 23, 2025. The announcement was made by the Minister of the Interior, Diosdado Cabello, who presented him as one of the alleged “heads” of a “terrorist network” that, according to the regime, planned to “sabotage” the elections.
The capture occurred in Caracas, in an operation by the security forces, while Guanipa had been in hiding since the presidential elections of July 2024, after denouncing electoral fraud.
Cabello showed images and videos of the moment of arrest on state television: Guanipa appeared handcuffed, wearing a bulletproof vest and escorted by agents of the Bolivarian National Police (PNB) dressed in black and hooded.
The Chavista official stated that four cell phones and a laptop were seized from him that would contain “the plan” of the alleged conspiracy, and that he was part of a wave of arrests that included more than 70 people, including activists and foreigners.
The detention generated strong rejection from the opposition and human rights organizations, which described it as arbitrary and part of a pattern of political persecution.
Guanipa remained incommunicado for several days, without immediate access to his family or lawyers, and was initially transferred to a police headquarters.
Guanipa’s release occurs within the framework of a release process initiated after the capture of Nicolás Maduro by US forces and the announcement by the head of Parliament, Jorge Rodríguez, of a program to review the situation of those detained for political reasons.
According to data from the largest opposition coalition, at least 391 political prisoners have been released since January 8, while the Penal Forum counts 383 releases.For its part, the Delcy Rodríguez regime claims to have granted precautionary measures to 895 people since December 2025, but has not published verifiable lists.
