Far-right Venezuelan politician Juan Pablo Guanipa rallying at detention centers in Caracas after his conditional release from prison on Sunday, February 8, 2026. Photo: Telemundo.
Caracas (OrinocoTribune.com)—On Monday morning, Venezuela’s Public Prosecutor’s Office reported the revocation of the conditional liberty granted to far-right politician Juan Pablo Guanipa following verification that he failed to comply with his release conditions. After revoking the measure, the office announced that Guanipa has been placed under house arrest.
On social media, far-right politicians and operators, along with pro-US mainstream media, created an outcry on Sunday by claiming the politician had been “kidnapped.” These reports omitted that after his release on Sunday morning, Guanipa rallied at various detention centers, calling for the non-recognition of Venezuelan constitutional authorities in an attempt to disrupt the peace that Venezuelans have established in recent years.
The caravan to detention centers
The far-right politician, a close ally of María Corina Machado, led a caravan alongside Jesús Armas to several prisons immediately following his release. The group arrived at the outskirts of El Helicoide prison, where relatives of detainees have been staying for the past month. “Our presence here is to demand the immediate release of all political prisoners in Venezuela,” Guanipa said.
Far-right operator are trying to heat up the streets in Venezuela. They have been trying to do it unsuccessfully with students. They won’t be able to do it but this looks like a new trend in that direction! https://t.co/rWokLyDzY4
— Orinoco Tribune (@OrinocoTribune) February 9, 2026
Guanipa then traveled to the Detention Control and Protection Center, located in Zone 7 of Boleíta, Caracas. Upon arrival, he and other protesters shouted “We are not afraid,” a chant frequently used by far-right operators before violent actions such as the 2014 and 2017 guarimbas.
From there, he once again disavowed the constitutional government currently led by Acting President Delcy Rodríguez. This government assumed leadership after US troops kidnapped President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on January 3—an action that included the bombing of populated areas, resulting in over 120 deaths and 150 injuries.
“Venezuela has the right to be a free, democratic country, to breathe the rule of law, to have rules and for all of us to be obligated to comply with them,” Guanipa said in a video circulating on TikTok. “The first ones who have to comply with the rules are those who are in power, who are illegitimately in power today. They are in power because they disrespected the result of the electoral process, and because people took to the streets to protest, they put us in jail.”
Background of the 2025 arrest and the amnesty process
Guanipa was originally arrested in May 2025 for leading a terrorist cell that intended to sabotage the parliamentary and regional elections held on May 25 of that year. Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello released the information regarding the arrest shortly after noon on Friday, May 23, 2025.
His brief release on Sunday took place amid a series of prisoner releases initiated by the government in November 2025. Several arrests followed violent actions promoted by far-right sectors supported by María Corina Machado and Edmundo González, who refused to recognize the results of the July 28, 2024, presidential election.
Last week, during the parliamentary debate on the Amnesty Law draft, opposition Deputy Tomás Guanipa—brother of Juan Pablo Guanipa—intervened, stating that the opposition caucus “will make all our contributions so that this law becomes a source of pride for all Venezuelans and initiates a stage in national reconstruction, which we must all do together.”
Chavismo and its history of pardons
This is not the first time since the Bolivarian Revolution came to power in 1999 that amnesties or pardons have been discussed in Venezuela. In December 2007, President Hugo Chávez announced the first amnesty measure, which benefited the coup plotters of April 2002 and the promoters of the 2002–2003 oil sabotage.
President Maduro followed suit with a presidential decree in August 2020, benefiting 110 people, most of whom were from far-right groups involved in conspiratorial and coup-plotting actions. Following the July 2024 presidential elections, far-right operators promoted 72 hours of violence that left 28 dead and 195 injured, including children and teenagers. While many of the responsible were arrested, President Maduro asked judges in November 2024 to review cases for procedural errors. This review led to the current wave of releases that has continued into 2026 under Delcy Rodríguez’s mandate.
Minister Cabello comments on the revocation
During the PSUV weekly press conference on Monday, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello reported that 897 people detained for various crimes had been released to date. However, he noted the number was reduced to 896 “because one of the people failed to comply with the conditional liberty measures.”
“Nothing had happened until the enlightened stupidity of some politicians led them to believe they could do whatever they wanted and create chaos in the country, violating the very conditions they were given,” Cabello stated. “This country wants peace. This is an opportunity being given to them.”
The Chavista leader explained that the Public Prosecutor’s Office determined that the release measures were violated and requested revocation. “Some people think they are above the law when they are not. They think they are untouchable, but justice works here,” he said. “If you want to be involved in politics, go ahead… But if you want to burn this country down, set this country ablaze, the justice system will work.”
Public Ministry statement
Below is the unofficial translation of the Public Ministry statement:
The Public Ministry of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela reports that, in the exercise of its constitutional and legal powers, it has requested before the competent Court the revocation of the precautionary measure granted to the citizen Juan Pablo Guanipa, by virtue of having verified the non-compliance with the conditions imposed by the aforementioned jurisdictional body.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office reminds that the precautionary measures agreed by the courts are conditional upon strict compliance with the obligations imposed, and that non-compliance empowers the judicial body, at a party’s request, to revoke or replace the measure previously granted, in accordance with current legislation.
In this regard, the Public Prosecutor’s Office has requested that the Court adopt decisions that correspond to the law, in order to safeguard the criminal process, to transition to a regime of house arrest.
Finally, the Public Prosecutor’s Office invokes the spirit of the ongoing Democratic Coexistence and Peace Program, as well as the consultation on the Amnesty Law, to guarantee the unity and reconciliation of Venezuelans at this historic moment. Venezuela demands a space for national dialogue within the framework of the Constitution of the Republic.
Caracas, February 9, 2026.
Special for Orinoco Tribune by staff
OT/JRE/SF
