The arrest of Guanipa, a 60-year-old former lawmaker and close ally of opposition leader María Corina Machado, comes amidst rising tensions ahead of Sunday's elections, it says France24.
Machado called on voters to boycott the election, which is being held ten months after an election widely believed to have been won by the leftist president Nicolas Maduro stole. The opposition and most of the international community believe that in July 2024 there will be presidential elections the victory was actually won by the opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia.
Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello linked Guanipa's arrest to what the government called a foiled plan by foreign mercenaries to sabotage Sunday's vote for members of parliament and 24 state governors.
"He is one of the leaders of this terrorist network," Cabello said on state television, adding that a plan to disrupt the election was found on four phones and a laptop in Guanypa's possession.
Cabello said the suspects planned to plant bombs in hospitals, metro stations, police stations and power plants, adding that authorities seized explosives, weapons, detonators and cash.
He added that another 70 people were arrested in connection with the alleged plan, including citizens of Ecuador, Argentina, Germany, Serbia and "several" citizens of Pakistan.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a statement expressing "concern over the unjustified and arbitrary arrest of opposition leader Juan Pablo Guanipa and more than 70 individuals" in what he called "a new wave of repression by the Maduro regime."
A message on Guanipa's X network account shortly after his arrest read: "If you're reading this, it means I was kidnapped by forces of the Nicolas Maduro regime."
"I am not sure what will happen to me in the coming hours, days and weeks. But what I know for sure is that we will win this long fight against the dictatorship."
Twelve years of repressive rule
Machado accused Maduro of "State terrorism, pure and simple," saying Guanipa "is an example for all citizens and political leaders, inside and outside of Venezuela."
Maduro presided over the collapse of Venezuela's oil-rich economy during his last 12 years of increasingly repressive rule.
Millions of people left the country, mostly for other Latin American countries.
In July, Maduro claimed to have won a third term, without providing detailed results to back it up.
The opposition published its own tally of results, which showed a landslide victory for González Urrutia.
The state prosecutor's office on Friday accused Guanipa of being part of a "criminal organization" that tried to sabotage those elections, as well as this weekend's vote.
Mass arrests of government critics
Maduro, a former bus driver who was chosen by the late fiery socialist leader Hugo Chavez as his successor in 2013, has often claimed he is the target of US-Colombian-backed coup plots.
Mass arrests of government critics have become commonplace.
The government suspended flights from Colombia on Monday after arresting dozens of people it says are mercenaries who entered Venezuela illegally from the neighboring country.
Guanipa, a lawyer by profession, was appointed vice president of the now-defunct parallel government formed by former opposition leader Juan Guaido after the 2018 presidential election, when Maduro won a second term.
The opposition boycotted those elections after its most popular candidates were barred from participating.
Source: France24
