Category World News

A top figure in Venezuela’s opposition has been arrested on charges of “terrorism” before parliamentary elections scheduled for the weekend.

On Friday, a social media account for Juan Pablo Guanipa, a close associate of Maria Corina Machado, considered the leader of the opposition coalition, announced he had been detained. State television also carried images of his arrest, as he was escorted away by armed guards.

In a prewritten message online, Guanipa denounced Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro for human rights abuses, including stifling political dissent and false imprisonment.

“Brothers and sisters, if you are reading this, it is because I have been kidnapped by the forces of Nicolas Maduro’s regime,” Guanipa wrote.

“For months, I, like many Venezuelans, have been in hiding for my safety. Unfortunately, my time in hiding has come to an end. As of today, I am part of the list of Venezuelans kidnapped by the dictatorship.”

Since Venezuela held a hotly contested presidential election in July 2024, Guanipa, along with several other opposition figures, has been in hiding, for fear of being arrested.

That presidential election culminated in a disputed outcome and widespread protests. On the night of the vote, Venezuela’s election authorities declared Maduro the winner, awarding him a third successive six-year term, but it failed to publish the polling tallies to substantiate that result.

Meanwhile, the opposition coalition published tallies from voting stations that it said proved its candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, had prevailed in a landslide. International watchdogs also criticised the election for its lack of transparency.

Maduro’s government responded to the election-related protests with a police crackdown that led to nearly 2,000 arrests and 25 people killed. It also issued arrest warrants against opposition leaders, accusing them of charges ranging from conspiracy to falsifying records.

Maduro has long accused political dissidents of conspiring with foreign forces to topple his government.

Gonzalez himself was among those for whom a warrant was signed. He fled to exile in Spain. Others have gone into hiding, avoiding the public eye. Until recently, a group of five opposition members had sought shelter in the Argentinian embassy in Caracas, until they were reportedly smuggled out of the country earlier this month.

Opposition members and their supporters have dismissed the charges against them as spurious and further evidence of the Maduro government’s repressive tactics.

“This is pure and simple STATE TERRORISM,” Machado, the opposition leader, wrote on social media in the wake of Guanipa’s arrest.

Machado and others have said that Guanipa was one of several people arrested in the lead-up to this weekend’s regional elections, which will see members of the National Assembly and state-level positions on the ballot.

Several prominent members of the opposition have pledged to boycott the vote, arguing it is a means for Maduro to consolidate power.

“Just hours before a farcical election with no guarantees of any kind, the regime has reactivated an operation of political repression,” Gonzalez wrote on social media, in reaction to the recent spate of arrests.

He argued that the detention of Guanipa and others was a means of ensuring “nothing will go off script” during Sunday’s vote.

“They harass political, social, and community leaders. They persecute those who influence public opinion. They intend to shut down all alternative information spaces and ensure a narrative monopoly,” Gonzalez wrote.

Following a surprise policy change earlier this month, the administration of US President Donald Trump has made its first real move to rescind sanctions against Syria.

The US Department of the Treasury issued sweeping relief to a number of individuals and entities on Friday, saying it would “enable new investment and private sector activity in accordance with]Trump’s] America First strategy.”

The US State Department also waived a 2019 law, the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, to allow “our foreign partners, allies, and the region to further unlock Syria’s potential,” at the same time.

Trump surprised the world when he made a pledge to lift sanctions against Syria on May 13 while in charge of its ousted leader, Bashar al-Assad.

As Syria recovers from abuses under al-Assad’s regime and 13 years of civil war, Friday’s announcements provide an initial step in that direction.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated in a statement that the State Department and the Treasury Department are implementing authorizations to encourage new investment in Syria in line with President Trump’s promise.

“Syria must also work diligently to establish itself as a stable, prosperous, and stable nation,” according to the statement from today.

Syria needs to move forward in the face of sanctions. In order to boost investments and cash flows that will enable basic services and reconstruction in Syria, the United States is issuing a waiver of the Caesar Act’s sanctions. We support the Syrian people’s efforts to…

During a Middle Eastern tour in the middle of May, Trump first made his intentions for sanctions relief. He claimed that lifting US sanctions would allow Syria to “achieve greatness” because it was economically isolated as a result of the restrictions.

“It’s their time to shine,” they said. He said from Riyadh, “We’re taking them all off.”

Trump and Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, who had just been removed from the US’s “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” list, exchanged hands shortly after.

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Following al-Assad’s government’s demise in December, more people started asking for sanctions relief. Al-Sharaa spearheaded the offensive that led to al-Assad fleeing the nation and ended the civil war as leader of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) organization.

The economy of Syria was in disarray as a result of the conflict that first broke out in 2011.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the country lost approximately $442.2 billion in total economic losses during the first eight years of the conflict alone, compared to the 646, 493 deaths recorded during the conflict.

Countries with US ties can’t conduct business in Syria because of the sanctions, which have further hampered the country’s future economic growth.

Syria’s interim government has argued that al-Assad’s rule would slow development and increase instability since taking over in December.

Many Syrians were hopeful of a new path forward after Trump’s announcement earlier this month, though the extent of the relief had remained undetermined.

The European Union also announced earlier this week that sanctions against Syria had been lifted.

The US government’s response to Friday’s US sanctions applies, according to the Treasury Department, to “the Government of Syria… as in existence on or after May 13, 2025.”

Additionally, the reprieve applies to a number of previously prohibited financial institutions in the fields of transportation, banking, tourism, and fossil fuels.

US sanctions continue to apply to transactions involving North Korea, Iran, and Russia.

The Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, a law passed in 2019, during Trump’s first term, is one of the biggest obstacles, though.

Al-Assad’s government and its allies and supporters were targeted by broad sanctions that included broad sanctions against civilians.

A former Syrian military photographer and whistleblower who smuggled a cache of photos showing torture and mass executions at al-Assad’s security forces out of the country was the subject of the act.

However, since the law was passed by Congress, a law of Congress will likely be required to remove all of its restrictions.

However, the Trump administration has the authority to revoke the law temporarily, as the president did on Friday.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated in a statement that the waiver will “increase investments and cash flows that will facilitate basic services and reconstruction in Syria.”

Israel frequently refers to those who criticize its devastating Gaza war as “anti-Semtic.”