CARACAS (Reuters) – The security chief of Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was arrested early on Wednesday morning, her Vente Venezuela movement said on X.
The arrest comes less than two weeks before a July 28 presidential contest where the opposition coalition’s candidate Edmundo Gonzalez is polling significantly ahead of President Nicolas Maduro, who is seeking a third term.
Machado was barred by a court from running in the presidential election over alleged fraud violations, which she denies, forcing her coalition to rally behind Gonzalez, a former diplomat.
Vente Venezuela said officials had taken Machado’s security chief, Milciades Avila, from the house where he had been staying.
The Venezuela Ministry of Communication and the Attorney General’s Office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Venezuela’s opposition has repeatedly denounced arrests and other moves by the authorities that it says are meant to harm its election campaign and prevent a fair election.
The United States and others have dismissed the 2018 re-election of Maduro, a Socialist, as a sham. Washington has urged Maduro’s government to ensure that this month’s elections are “competitive and inclusive”.
Foro Penal, a non-governmental organization, said on Monday that 102 people had been detained since the start of the election campaign on July 4.
Six of Machado’s former campaign staff are currently holed up in the embassy of Argentina, from which they are seeking political asylum.
(Reporting by Vivia Sequera and Mayela Armas, Writing by Natalia Siniawski and Julia Symmes Cobb, Editing by Andrew Heavens and Gareth Jones)
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