• Tweeter

  • republish

Juan Guaido, President of the Venezuelan National Assembly, meeting in La Guaira, January 13, 2019. REUTERS / Carlos Garcia Rawlins

In Venezuela, the president of the National Assembly, Juan Guaido, was briefly arrested on Sunday by the country's intelligence services, the Sebin. On Friday, he said he was ready to assume power in a transitional government and convened a major demonstration on 23 January. The opposition, like a whole section of the international community, believes President Nicolas Maduro's new term is illegitimate.

With our correspondent in Caracas , Benjamin Delille

Juan Guaido was arrested when he was leaving Caracas for a rally in a city near the capital. On a video taken by a motorist, several hooded individuals are seen taking him out of his car and taking him to another vehicle. He was released after an hour of detention.

According to Minister of Communication Jorge Rodriguez, the agents who arrested him acted " unilaterally and irregularly ". He believes that this arrest is a staging to discredit the government of Nicolas Maduro.

Yet this sounds like a warning while Juan Guaido intends to lead the protest against the Venezuelan president. The National Assembly, acquired by the opposition, said to be the only legitimate power in Venezuela since the controversial reelection of Nicolas Maduro last May.

After being said to be ready to assume power in a transitional government on Friday, Juan Guaido had received a threat from the government. In a tweet, the minister of Prisons, Iris Varela, warned him that " his cell and his uniform were already ready ".

Two journalists were also arrested and quickly released by the Sebin: the correspondents of CNN in Spanish and Caracol, a Colombian television.

► ANALYSIS

According to researcher Christophe Ventura, director of research at Iris, the message is simple: the Venezuelan power seeks to make it clear to Juan Guaido that he must stay in his place

This arrest, this liberation, is in fact a form of warning (...) The government is not completely stupid, it has obviously released him not to give his opponents what they expect

The message sent by Nicolas Maduro Director of research at Iris 13/01/2019 - by Vincent Souriau Listen