The White House on Thursday called for a halt to what it described as Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his representatives' harassment of the political opposition in response to the detention of opposition leader Maria Corina Machado.
"We have and continue to condemn publicly Maduro and his representatives for attempting to intimidate Venezuela's democratic opposition... We call for the right of Maria Corina Machado to speak freely to be respected and for Maduro and his representatives to cease harassing the opposition." a White House spokesperson said in a statement.
This comes after Venezuela opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was freed on Thursday after a brief detention, based on a statement on social media by her Vente Venezuela movement.
Machado was detained after an anti-government march in Caracas, her first public appearance in months, amid gunshots, the movement said, adding that during her detention, she was forced to film several videos.
Earlier, her ally, former presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez, demanded she be freed immediately as government officials, including Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, said her arrest was "an invention, a lie."
Vente Venezuela had said Machado was "violently intercepted" in eastern Caracas and that the motorcycle caravan in which she was riding had been shot at.
Members of the opposition are protesting around the country in an eleventh-hour effort to put pressure on President Nicolas Maduro ahead of his third inauguration on Friday.
US President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday defended people taking part in protests against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, saying in a post on Truth Social that "These freedom fighters should not be harmed."
Other global reactions
Other foreign ministries and political leaders reacted later on Thursday.
"The government of Colombia expresses its deep concern and rejection of the increase and severity of reports of human rights violations that are taking place in Venezuela in the run-up to the January 10 (presidential inauguration)," the Colombian Foreign Ministry said.
"We express our total condemnation and our concern... The physical integrity and freedom of expression and demonstration of all, especially that of opposition political leaders, must be protected and safeguarded," the Spanish Foreign Ministry said.
"The president's office expresses its extreme concern for the criminal attack by the Chavista regime against democratic leader Maria Corina Machado in Venezuela, as she attended a legitimate protest... In an operation worthy of the worst dictatorships in history, agents of the Maduro regime shot at her guards and violently kidnapped her in front of thousands of protesters," Argentinian President Javier Milei said.
"Panama expresses its protest and demand for the full freedom of (Maria Corina Machado) as well as for the respect of her personal safety. The dictatorial regime is responsible for her life!" Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino stated on X/Twitter.