Venezuela’s popular opposition leader, María Corina Machado, was detained during an antigovernment protest in Caracas on Thursday, according to a statement on X by her party, Vente Venezuela.
Ms. Machado had been living in hiding amid threats of arrest from government officials, and this was her first public appearance since August.
She was “violently intercepted as she left the gathering in Chacao,” a part of Caracas, said the statement. “Regime troops shot at the motorcycles that were transporting her.”
It was initially unclear who detained her, though the event was full of government security forces.
The country’s autocrat, President Nicolás Maduro, is set to be sworn in for a third term on Friday. Ms. Machado had called for gatherings around the country, and in cities around the world, to protest Mr. Maduro’s inauguration.
The country’s opposition, as well as the United States and other countries, say that Mr. Maduro had stolen a recent election and that the real winner was Edmundo González, a former diplomat who has Ms. Machado’s backing.
Mr. González has been living in exile since September.
Thousands came out to support Ms. Machado on Thursday, all risking government detention. And the opposition leader stood atop a truck while they shouted, “Freedom! Freedom! Freedom!”
At one point, a nun joined Ms. Machado on the vehicle, placing a rosary around her neck.
Ms. Machado told her followers, “This force that we have built and that grows every day has prepared us for this final phase.”
“Whatever they do tomorrow,” she said of the Maduro inauguration, “they’ve just buried themselves!”