Venezuela opposition leader arrested ahead of tense election

FRANCE 24 English

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00:00Venezuela on Friday arrested well-known opposition figure Juan Pablo Guanipa

00:05for allegedly leading a terrorist plot.

00:08Officials accused Guanipa and the opposition of conspiring with countries such as the United States

00:13to commit terrorism, attack Venezuela's power grid, and sabotage Sunday's elections.

00:19They swore that on the 26th, or after the night of the 25th, we wouldn't be announcing governors.

00:26Instead, they'd announce civil war in Venezuela.

00:28GUANIPA had been in hiding since last year's contested presidential election,

00:33which the opposition and much of the international community believe was stolen by President Nicolás Maduro.

00:40Guanipa is a close ally of the opposition's most recognizable figure, Maria Corina Machado,

00:47who remains in hiding to avoid arrest. She has urged an election boycott.

00:52Most other opposition leaders are either in exile or prison due to the government's repressive measures.

00:58After his arrest, Guanipa's allies released a pre-recorded message on social media.

01:05Let's keep moving forward. Let's keep applying both internal and international pressure.

01:11I'm sure we will achieve political change in Venezuela.

01:14Let's never lose hope. Let's never lose our dream.

01:16Venezuelan officials have linked Guanipa's arrest to what Maduro's authoritarian government has called

01:24a foiled terrorist plot to sabotage Sunday's gubernatorial and parliamentary elections.

01:30Officials said they have arrested 70 people, many of them foreign, and this week closed its border with Colombia,

01:37saying that mercenaries were coming from Venezuela's neighbor.

01:40Maduro has frequently claimed to be the target of coup plots backed by Colombia and the United States.

01:47Maduro has frequently claimed to be the target of the government's

02:10igkeiten of the United States.

02:11There are many things that we can do with respect to the government of the United States.

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