Milciades Ávila, head of security for Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, was detained early Wednesday morning. The arrest occurs as Machado and presidential candidate Edmundo González Urrutia continue touring the country as part of their campaign for the July 28 presidential election, in which the opposition coalition is polling significantly ahead of President Nicolas Maduro.
Vente Venezuela, the party founded by Machado, announced Ávila's detention on social media platform X, stating that government officials forcibly entered Ávila's residence and demanding his immediate release.
#Urgente Secuestrado jefe de protección de María Corina Machado (@MariaCorinaYA), Milciades Ávila.
— DDHH Vente Venezuela (@VenteDDHH) July 17, 2024
Hoy en la madrugada, funcionarios del régimen ingresaron a la fuerza a la vivienda donde se encontraba, violando todo procedimiento legal.
¡Exigimos su liberación inmediata! pic.twitter.com/uo47ufEv3b
Perkins Rocha, legal advisor to Machado's party, linked Ávila's detention to an incident on Saturday, July 13, in the state of Aragua. During the incident, several women attempted to attack Machado, but her security team, including Ávila, prevented the assault. Rocha explained that Ávila's "alleged crime" was protecting Machado and González Urrutia from being attacked by a state deputy and a municipal employee.
"The intention of the regime is clear: it wants us to leave María Corina Machado alone. First, her trusted political team; now her security team. For this, it uses the little 'institutional' force it has left and forces public officials to carry out acts they disapprove of," Rocha said.
Machado also took to X to denounce the detention: "I'm warning the world about Maduro's escalation of repression against those who work in the campaign or help us in any part of the country," she said.
Milciades Ávila es parte de nuestro equipo desde hace 10 años, y hoy es el jefe de nuestra unidad de protección. Previamente tuvo una destacada trayectoria en la policía.
— María Corina Machado (@MariaCorinaYA) July 17, 2024
Ávila me ha acompañado alrededor de todo el país y ha arriesgado su vida para defenderme.
Esta madrugada fue... pic.twitter.com/hhkWJAGX2M
On Monday, Machado and Edmundo Gonzalez's campaign reported the detention of 23 regional members, supporters, and opposition party leaders linked to the presidential campaign so far. In fact, Foro Penal, a local human rights NGO, has reported 102 arrests since the start of the election campaign on July 4
Earlier this month, Humans Rights Watch said in an oral statement before the UN that there were around 280 political prisoners behind bars at the moment, including human rights activists and opposition members.
"We are deeply alarmed by the arrest of opposition members, arbitrary disqualifications of opposition candidates, and efforts to further restrict civic space, as the authorities ramp up repression ahead of the elections in July," reads a passage of the statement.
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