lawyer of Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, Perkins Rocha, has been detained, according to reports. Rocha, who also serves as a legal adviser for the opposition Vente Venezuela party, was forcibly seized by unidentified men, and his whereabouts remain unknown. This detention follows a wave of arrests targeting opposition figures in the aftermath of last month’s disputed presidential election.
The government of President Nicolás Maduro has detained over 2,400 people in the past month, creating what the UN has described as “a climate of fear.” Rights group Provea has warned that political persecution in Venezuela has intensified since 29 July, when the government-controlled National Electoral Council (CNE) declared President Maduro the winner with 52% of the vote.
However, the opposition has contested these results, claiming their candidate, Edmundo González, actually won with 67% of the vote. Copies of voting tallies uploaded by the opposition, and reviewed by both the Washington Post and the Associated Press, suggest that González had a significant lead over Maduro, with an advantage of more than 3.7 million votes according to a sample representing nearly 80% of the total.