Maduro regime detains businessman Ricardo Albacete who hosted opposition leader María Corina Machado

Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab confirmed the arrest of businessman Ricardo Albacete Vidal, a move that came after Albacete provided accommodations to opposition leader María Corina Machado in the state of Táchira.

Saab clarified that Albacete Vidal’s was arrested suspicion, and that the charges are still being investigated by authorities.

“We have proceeded with the arrest of businessman Ricardo Albacete Vidal in compliance with the law,” the Chavista prosecutor told the Venezuelan media, adding that the ongoing investigation will determine any additional involvement of the detainee’s potential “illegal” activities.

#EnVideo📹| Fiscal General @TarekWiliamSaab reiteró que en la detención de Ricardo Albacete se le encontró un galpón con materiales estratégicos de Corpoelec y CADAFE. Con este método buscaban sabotear el Sistema Eléctrico Nacional (SEN), generando rabia y zozobra en la… pic.twitter.com/qExteKe0V3

— VTV CANAL 8 (@VTVcanal8) July 12, 2024

The exact circumstances that led to the arrest of Albacete, who hosted Machado in his house while he was on a tour of the state of Táchira on June 27 and 28, have not been published, his lawyer Omar Mora Tosta said during an interview with CNN.

Mora said that Albacete’s relatives told him that the businessman was detained this Thursday by a group of men who did not identify themselves when he was walking near the hotel where he was staying in Caracas.

The lawyer described the detention as “arbitrary,” saying that up to this point, that Albacete “was missing because there was no information.”

After hearing the news, the NTN24 program La Tarde managed to contact the businessman's daughter, Loredana Albacete, who spoke about the unexpected arrest.

“We do not have any information regarding my father. Only what was seen at the press conference with a worrying image of my dad. Marks were visible on his neck. We ask for faith of life. We don't know if he's okay. We have provided the lawyer with medical reports that indicate that he needs help to breathe,” he explained.

María Corina Machado has not issued formal statements regarding Albacete Vidal's arrest or ongoing investigations, but her followers and political allies have raised concerns about possible retaliation and additional obstacles to her future political activities.

“Justice must be impartial and not used as an instrument of persecution,” said one of Machado's spokespersons in recent interviews.

The Human Rights Committee of Vente Venezuela, an organization led by Machado, reported that the businessman was detained by officials of the Bolivarian Intelligence Service (SEBIN).

She also confirmed that “her properties in the state of Táchira were raided, including the house where” the political opponent stayed.

NGO Un Mundo Sin Mordaza condemned the “raid of one of the businessman's homes and industrial warehouses,” and demanded that the regime “stop persecutions, arrests and arbitrary raids on the homes of citizens who think differently.”

In a post published on the X social media platform, the group also urged the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), among other international organizations, to “take note of the matter and condemn the aforementioned attacks.”