María Corina Machado condemns Venezuelan arrests of opposition activists as acts of "pure cruelty and evil"

Venezuela’s primary opposition leader, María Corina Machado, condemned the recent arrest of three fellow pro-democracy activists by communist dictator Nicolás Maduro, and described the state acts as “pure cruelty and evil,” and reiterated her commitment to fight for the freedom and dignity of the Venezuelan people.

Last Saturday, Juan Iriarte, Jean Carlos Rivas and Luis López, close collaborators of Machado, were detained without explanation by state security forces. So far, no official information has been provided regarding their whereabouts or conditions, increasing concern and fear among human rights defenders and the international community.

In a publication on her X account, María Corina Machado expressed her solidarity with the detainees and their families and denounced the regime's repressive strategy.

“This is cruelty. They are Venezuelans who are giving everything to be able to see their country with freedom and dignity. It is criminal, pure evil, and shows that the only thing left for the regime is violence against citizens,” Machado wrote.

She also stressed that far from intimidating the opposition, these acts of repression strengthen the determination of Venezuelans to fight for their freedom.

“These abuses give us more reasons to fight and organize ahead of July 28,” she added, referring to the date of an upcoming significant event for the opposition.

Corina Machado added that, given the lack of responses from the ruling party, she will raise the case before international organizations to seek support in the fight for the release of the detainees.

She highlighted the relevance of the fact that the G7 leaders, meeting in Italy, have included the Venezuelan situation in their declaration, advocating for the release of all political prisoners and the end of the persecution of dissent.

“This is brutal, something never seen before,” the widely recognized pro-democracy leader said, hoping to illuminate the situation to the international community.

Machado also noted that the regime's repression has intensified in recent months, affecting people who do not even have direct contact with the opposition.

“They are no longer just people who have very high responsibilities and years of doing this. Now we are also talking about people who, simply for attending an event, show up tonight or have a restaurant closed,” she explained.

Edmundo González Urrutia, candidate for Venezuela's main opposition coalition, also condemned the arrests.

In a meeting with young people and leaders of various political organizations in Caracas, González Urrutia described the arrests as “unfair and arbitrary.”

“Send them a message of solidarity from here, hoping that they have freedom, because it is an unjust and arbitrary detention,” he said.

González Urrutia added that the arrests occurred after the activists participated in an event in the La Guaíra region. The lack of information about the whereabouts and condition of those detained has raised serious concerns, as security authorities have refused to take responsibility and provide clear details.