President Nicolás Maduro will be sworn in for another six years on Friday, and he is hoping to use foreign prisoners to get his way on the global stage.

Maria Corina Machado, a 57-year-old engineer with rock-star appeal, became the fearless figurehead of Venezuela's opposition after being barred from challenging strongman Nicolas Maduro in elections last July.

Police are out in force in the streets of Venezuela’s capital as the opposition calls for major anti-government protests.

President-elect Donald Trump gave Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro a stern warning on Thursday not to harm his country’s opposition leader.

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María Corina Machado, the Venezuelan opposition leader, was arrested on Thursday while leading a protest against the swearing in of autocratic president Nicolás Maduro.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Friday condemned the "unacceptable act of repression" in Venezuela, hours after the brief arrest of opposition leader Maria Corina Machado.

During her detention, an aide said, Maria Corina Machado “was forced to record several videos.” She has garnered enormous support for her opposition to Nicolás Maduro.

Security forces ‘violently intercepted’ her convoy, Machado’s team said, but the authorities denied she had been detained.

Machado's reappearrance coincided with the announcement of Edmundo González in the Dominican Republic of returning to Caracas to assume the presidency.View on euronews

The Nicolas Maduro regime arrested Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado on Thursday after opening fire against the driver of the motorcycle in which she was riding, people close to her team said.