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Venezuelan opposition leader Mar\u00eda Corina Machado<\/a> said on Monday one of her closest allies was kidnapped hours after being released from prison.<\/p>\n The government had released several prominent opposition members from prison on Sunday after lengthy politically motivated detentions.<\/p>\n Machado said on social media<\/a> that Juan Pablo Guanipa was taken around midnight in a residential neighbourhood of the capital, Caracas.<\/p>\n \u201cHeavily armed men, dressed in civilian clothes, arrived in four vehicles and violently took him away,\u201d she posted on X. \u201cWe demand his immediate release.\u201d<\/p>\n Guanipa, a former governor, had told reporters hours after his release: \u201cI am convinced that our country has completely changed. I am convinced that it is now up to all of us to focus on building a free and democratic country.\u201d<\/p>\n Guanipa had spent more than eight months in custody.<\/p>\n Alfredo Romero, president of Venezuelan-based prisoners\u2019 rights group Foro Penal, expressed serious concern about Guanipa\u2019s disappearance. \u201cSo far, we have no clear information about who took him,\u201d he said on X. \u201cWe hope he will be released immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n Foro Penal confirmed the release of at least 30 people on Sunday.<\/p>\n The releases of the opposition figures came as the government of acting president Delcy Rodr\u00edguez<\/a> has faced mounting pressure to free hundreds of people whose detentions months or years ago have been linked to their political activities. The releases also followed a visit to Venezuela by representatives of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.<\/p>\n The government\u2019s press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment early on Monday.<\/p>\n