By Canadian Press

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado risks arrest by joining anti-government protests

Jan 9, 2025 | 10:29 AM

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) —

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado on Thursday left her hideout for the first time in months, risking arrest as anti-government protesters made a last-ditch attempt to stop President Nicolás Maduro from being sworn in to another term after a disputed election.

The protests are taking place a day before the ruling party-controlled National Assembly is scheduled to swear in Maduro to a third six-year term despite credible evidence that he lost the presidential election. Machado has called on supporters to demonstrate across Venezuela in order to force him out of office.

Machado joined demonstrations in the country’s capital, Caracas. She has not been seen publicly since appearing suddenly at the last major opposition protest in August.

Machado, a former lawmaker, won the presidential primary of the main opposition coalition last year before the Maduro-controlled Supreme Tribunal of Justice banned her from running for office. Her coalition then chose retired diplomat Edmundo González as a last-minute stand-in candidate for the July 28 election.

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The Machado-González campaign collected tally sheets from more than 85% of electronic voting machines and posted them online, saying they showed González had won with twice as many votes as Maduro. That contradicted the results that electoral authorities loyal to Maduro announced after polls closed.

The U.S.-based Carter Center, invited by Maduro’s government to observe the election, has said the tally sheets published by the opposition are legitimate.

The National Assembly, which like all institutions in Venezuela is controlled by the ruling socialist party, is scheduled to swear in Maduro on Friday to another six-year term. In anticipation, Machado has been calling for mass protests to block that from happening.

—

Goodman reported from Miami.

Regina Garcia Cano And Joshua Goodman, The Associated Press