Venezuelan opposition parties said Saturday that three activists for the opposition were arbitrarily detained on Friday and have not been seen since, following a string of opposition political activists being detained ahead of Venezuela’s July presidential elections.
Opposition party Vente said on X (formerly Twitter) that 19-year-old volunteer youth leader Juan Carlos Rivas is being taken to court after “more than 20 hours of forced disappearance.” Another opposition party, Voluntad Popular, stated that Rivas, Luis López and Juan Iriarte, were presented before Venezuelan courts and accused of incitement to hatred. The party noted that despite having private lawyers, the defendants were given public defense lawyers.
Voluntad Popular accused the Maduro government of targeting members of the opposition and activists, saying, “The regime of Nicolás Maduro attacks again against activists of the Venezuelan democratic cause, whom it baselessly intends to involve in criminal actions as a measure of intimidation.”
In another post on X, Voluntad Popular commented on Juan Carlos Rivas’s disappearance. “Working through the electoral route cannot be synonymous with persecution,” the party said.
Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado called the detentions “political persecution.” Machado was banned from campaigning in the presidential elections by incumbent President Nicolás Maduro and instead endorsed presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia of the Plataforma Unitaria Democratia party. Machado told reporters that the government has shut down businesses and hotels that the opposition has been visiting. At least 13 activists for Machado have been arbitrarily detained since January. Machado said.
Source: Jurist
