Former Mayor Javier Oropeza Arrested by Sebin in Barquisimeto After Returning to Country
The former mayor of Torres municipality was intercepted by Sebin in Barquisimeto one day after returning from exile and obtaining dismissal of his case.
Sebin Detains Javier Oropeza in Lara Hours After His Return to Country
The former mayor of Torres municipality, Javier Oropeza, was detained on Thursday in Barquisimeto, Lara state, as he was leaving an interview at the newspaper El Informador. According to elnacional.com, the procedure occurred just one day after Oropeza returned to Venezuela following more than two years in exile, and hours after a court in Caracas ordered the dismissal of the criminal case he was facing.
Videos circulated by opposition leaders show the moment when several people surrounded Oropeza and placed him in a vehicle. At the time reports were published, Venezuelan authorities had not officially informed the public about the procedure, its reasons, or the location to which he was transferred.
The detention was reported by opposition leader Juan Pablo Guanipa, who appeared along with other politicians at a police station in Lara to demand information about Oropeza's whereabouts and call for his release.
"We alert that Sebin intercepted Javier Oropeza as he was leaving the newspaper El Informador in Lara. These state terrorism practices by chavismo must stop immediately. Enough persecution, political prisoners and kidnappings. Enough of dictatorship!", Guanipa wrote on his X account.
Guanipa also described the context of Oropeza's return to the country: "He was in exile for two years and a few months. They took away the mayoralty he won by popular vote. They confiscated his assets. He decided to return to the country. He returned, there was no problem. He went to court, they ruled on the dismissal of his case and right now they just detained him."
Return and Background
Oropeza had returned to Venezuela on Wednesday, 16 September. That same day he appeared before a court in Caracas along with his wife to formalise the dismissal of the criminal case he was facing. He then travelled to Lara state, where he had planned to meet with media and return to the city of Carora.
The former mayor had left the country following the events after the presidential elections on 28 July 2024. During that period, according to reports from local media, raids occurred linked to his residence, his mother's home and a media outlet associated with his family. In April 2025, the Controller General of the Republic announced his political disqualification for 15 years and measures regarding his assets.
Context: Pattern of Arbitrary Detentions
The detention occurred one day after the United Nations Independent International Mission of Inquiry on the Facts Regarding Venezuela warned about the continuity of repressive mechanisms in the country. In its report published on Wednesday, the Mission noted that while prolonged detentions and forced disappearances decreased after 3 January 2026, a subsequent pattern of short-duration arbitrary arrests targeting opposition activists, journalists and other members of civil society was identified.
Between 1 September 2025 and 29 July 2026, civil society organisations recorded at least 214 arbitrary detentions on political grounds, of which 94 per cent occurred before the end of 2025. According to the Mission, after 3 January brief detentions continued to operate as a mechanism of intimidation.
The body also noted that state structures linked to repression remain essentially unchanged, despite the release of hundreds of people detained for political reasons. The laws used to criminalise dissent remain in force, and intelligence services and security forces maintain structures, policies and practices similar to those documented in previous periods.
Source: Google News VE — Crime