'Change is irreversible,' Venezuelan opposition leader Guanipa says after release

Record ID: 2357764

  • Title: 'Change is irreversible,' Venezuelan opposition leader Guanipa says after release
  • Date: 25th February 2026
  • Summary: MARACAIBO, VENEZUELA (FEBRUARY 24, 2026) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION POLITICIAN, JUAN PABLO GUANIPA, READING NOTES HE WROTE WHILE IN PRISON AFTER BEING GRANTED AMNESTY  (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) OPPOSITION POLITICIAN RELEASED FROM PRISON, JUAN PABLO GUANIPA, SAYING: "I am convinced that change is irreversible. I was convinced even before what happened on January
  • Embargoed:
  • Keywords: AMNESTY LAW DELCY RODRIGUEZ FREEDOM JUAN PABLO GUANIPA MARIA CORINA MACHADO PRISON RELEASE UNITED STATES VENEZUELA
  • Location: MARACAIBO AND CARACAS, VENEZUELA
  • City: MARACAIBO AND CARACAS, VENEZUELA
  • Country: Venezuela
  • Topics: Fundamental Rights/Civil Liberties,South America / Central America,Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA001835125022026RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:Venezuelan opposition politician Juan Pablo Guanipa expressed hope on Tuesday (February 24) change is "irreversible" in the Caribbean country after the capture of president Nicolas Maduro on January 3.
    A close ally of Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado, Guanipa spoke from his house in the oil-rich Maracaibo.
    The 61-year-old lawyer and politician was released from detention on February 8 but then rearrested several hours later after speaking to the media in Caracas and seeing supporters. Venezuela's Attorney General's Office said he was rearrested for allegedly violating the terms of his release.
    Guanipa was imprisoned for more than eight months on accusations of leading a terrorist plot, which he has denied. Before that, he lived in hiding after the 2024 presidential vote, which the opposition says it won, though Maduro claimed victory.
    The politician was set free on February 20 hours after the Amnesty and Democratic Coexistence Law was approved.
    (Production: Reuters)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2026. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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