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Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado gestures as she gives a speech during a protest called by the opposition on the eve of the presidential inauguration, in Caracas on January 9, 2025. Venezuela is on tenterhooks facing demonstrations called by both the opposition and government supporters. Machado emerged from hiding to lead protests in Caracas against the swearing-in of Nicolas Maduro for a highly controversial third term as president. (Photo by FEDERICO PARRA/AFP via Getty Images)

OAN Staff Brennan Cooney and Sophia Flores
3:33 PM – Thursday, January 9, 2025

Venezuelan political opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has reportedly been freed after being “violently intercepted” and detained by state forces.

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Machado had spoken out at a pro-government protest, which is presumably what led to her detainment.

Prior to her appearance, she spent months in hiding.

According to an opposition party staffer on Thursday, Machado appeared at the rally in the country’s capital of Caracas in order to demand an end to the regime, and to declare Nicolas Maduro illegitimate.

The opposition leader, who entered the protest memorably on a motorcycle, was shot at as she attempted to flee the gathering. Machado was forced off the road and was forcibly taken away.

Her team explained that “during the period of her kidnapping, she was forced to record several videos and was later released.”

Maduro is set to begin his next term on Friday. This comes despite country-wide condemnation and surfacing questions among the Venezuelan people regarding the election.

President-elect Donald Trump took to Truth Social to declare that Venezuelan American community must support a “free Venezuela.”

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