Thousands turned out to support Ms. Machado at an event in Caracas on Thursday, all risking government detention. There, the opposition leader stood atop a truck while supporters shouted, “Freedom! Freedom! Freedom!”
On X, the political aide, Magalli Meda, said that as Ms. Machado was leaving the gathering, she was knocked off her motorbike.
“Firearms went off at the event,” Ms. Meda said. “They took her away by force.”
During her brief detention, “she was forced to record several videos and was later released,” she added. “In the next few hours she herself will be the one to address the country to explain what happened.”
Representatives for Ms. Machado declined to say who detained her. The event was full of government security forces, who are often backed by members of armed gangs know as colectivos.
Venezuela’s interior minister, Diosdado Cabello, speaking in a television interview, called the capture “a lie” and accused the opposition of inventing it to attract attention.
