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Report
Venezuela opposition leader arrested ahead of tense election
FRANCE 24 English
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5/24/2025
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News
Transcript
Display full video transcript
00:00
Venezuela on Friday arrested well-known opposition figure Juan Pablo Guanipa
00:05
for allegedly leading a terrorist plot.
00:08
Officials accused Guanipa and the opposition of conspiring with countries such as the United States
00:13
to commit terrorism, attack Venezuela's power grid, and sabotage Sunday's elections.
00:19
They swore that on the 26th, or after the night of the 25th, we wouldn't be announcing governors.
00:26
Instead, they'd announce civil war in Venezuela.
00:28
GUANIPA had been in hiding since last year's contested presidential election,
00:33
which the opposition and much of the international community believe was stolen by President Nicolás Maduro.
00:40
Guanipa is a close ally of the opposition's most recognizable figure, Maria Corina Machado,
00:47
who remains in hiding to avoid arrest. She has urged an election boycott.
00:52
Most other opposition leaders are either in exile or prison due to the government's repressive measures.
00:58
After his arrest, Guanipa's allies released a pre-recorded message on social media.
01:05
Let's keep moving forward. Let's keep applying both internal and international pressure.
01:11
I'm sure we will achieve political change in Venezuela.
01:14
Let's never lose hope. Let's never lose our dream.
01:16
Venezuelan officials have linked Guanipa's arrest to what Maduro's authoritarian government has called
01:24
a foiled terrorist plot to sabotage Sunday's gubernatorial and parliamentary elections.
01:30
Officials said they have arrested 70 people, many of them foreign, and this week closed its border with Colombia,
01:37
saying that mercenaries were coming from Venezuela's neighbor.
01:40
Maduro has frequently claimed to be the target of coup plots backed by Colombia and the United States.
01:47
Maduro has frequently claimed to be the target of the government's
02:10
igkeiten of the United States.
02:11
There are many things that we can do with respect to the government of the United States.
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1:49
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