Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó has reportedly been detained by the country's intelligence agents, two days after he was declared the interim President of Venezuela by the disempowered National Assembly.

"Alert the world and the country that today # 13Ene a SEBIN command intercepted the President of the National Assembly of Venezuela @jguaido and we do not know his whereabouts," a message on Guaidó's official Twitter account reads.

Later in the day, Organization of American States (OAS) President Luis Almagro accused Venezuelan authorities of kidnapping Guaido.

"[We] totally condemn and reject the kidnapping of Venezuelan interim president Juan Guaido. The international community must stop the crimes of [Venezuelan President Nicolas] Maduro and his henchmen," Almagro tweeted.

Maduro has faced criticism from a number of states after his re-election in May, with some countries claiming that the vote was illegitimate, something vehemently denied by Caracas.

Earlier in January, the Peruvian Foreign Ministry said following the meeting of the Lima Group foreign ministers that the union did not recognize the legitimacy of Maduro's new presidential term that will begin on January 10 and urged him to call a new presidential election. </s> CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The Latest on Venezuela's political crisis (all times local):

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido has arrived back in Venezuela to renew his campaign to topple the government of President Nicolas Maduro.

Guaido landed at the country's main airport, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Caracas. He said in a tweet he successfully passed through immigration checks.

Several European ambassadors who support his campaign for a change of leadership in Venezuela were at the scene as he arrived Monday.

Dozens of countries have recognized Guaido as Venezuela's legitimate leader, arguing that last year's re-election of Maduro was invalid.

Guaido has called for nationwide demonstrations coinciding with his arrival. He'd ignored an official ban on travelling to go abroad.

Several hundred supporters of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido have gathered in a Caracas plaza, heeding a call from the self-declared interim president to turn out for his expected return to Venezuela.

More demonstrators on Monday were walking toward the plaza in the Las Mercedes district of the Venezuelan capital. Some carried national flags.

The crowd initially appeared smaller than those of previous opposition rallies, which have drawn tens of thousands of people.

Guaido says the goal of his return is to intensify pressure on President Nicolas Maduro to resign so that a transitional government can take over and prepare Venezuela for free and fair elections. Maduro says he is the target of a U.S.-backed plot to overthrow him.

Guaido on Monday morning tweeted that he was on his way home, though he did not reveal his exact whereabouts.

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido says he's his way home.

Guaido tweeted Monday that he's heading back to Venezuela, though details about his exact whereabouts remained a mystery ahead of planned anti-government protests.

The leader of the National Assembly has declared himself interim president of Venezuela. He says the goal of his return is to intensify internal pressure on the government of President Nicolas Maduro. In the last week, Guaido visited several Latin American countries that support his campaign against Maduro, who was re-elected last year in a vote that the opposition and dozens of foreign nations say was invalid. </s> The president of Venezuela’s National Assembly – a man some argue is the rightful president of the country – was briefly detained Sunday by the SEBIN political police, according to multiple reports.

Juan Guaidó was on his way to a political rally Sunday when his car was stopped on the highway by masked security forces, according to videos circulating on social media. His official twitter account also confirmed that he’d been detained. But less than two hours later he was released, according to members of his political party.

The event, which has not been confirmed by the government, comes just three days after President Nicolás Maduro began a new six year term that many in the international community consider illegitimate. The United States, Perú, Brazil, Colombia and others have said that the opposition-controlled National Assembly is the only legitimate branch of government, and that Guaidó should be considered the head of state. </s> Venezuela's Constituent Assembly voted unanimously to strip self-proclaimed interim president Juan Guaidó of immunity in a move his supporters fear may signal the impending arrest and prosecution of the opposition leader who is challenging the rule of President Nicolás Maduro.

Until now, Maduro has refrained from jailing Guaidó who has the support of the Trump administration and several dozen other countries. The Constituent Assembly is loyal to Maduro.

Guaidó declared himself interim president in January and has led several public mobilizations seeking to convince Venezuelans that he can succeed Maduro and help lead the country out of its political and economic crisis.

The Constituent Assembly's action came after Venezuela Supreme Court Justice Maikel Moreno, a Maduro ally, called for Guaidó's prosecution for violating a government travel ban. In late February, Guaidó slipped out of Venezuela and spent a week trying to rally support for his claim to the presidency from European and South American nations. The opposition leader is also accused of inciting violence and receiving illegal foreign funds.

Last week Venezuelan state comptroller Elvis Amoroso, another Maduro ally, barred Guaidó from holding public office for 15 years.

Before the vote by the Constituent Assembly, Guaidó criticized it and the Maduro-aligned Supreme Court.

"This is not even a persecution," he said as quoted by Reuters. "This is inquisition."

The Maduro government has increased its pressure on the opposition in other ways. Last month government agents detained Guaidó's chief of staff, Roberto Marrero, in an overnight raid of his home — a move Guaidó condemned as a kidnapping.

Guaidó's wife, Fabiana Rosales, was in Florida Tuesday meeting with state leaders and Venezuelan exiles. A news conference with Gov. Ron DeSantis was delayed by concerns over a safety "situation" in Venezuela — reportedly related to Guaidó's safety. </s> Venezuela's opposition-controlled legislature is calling for a mass protest against President Nicolas Maduro in an attempt to remove the Marxist leader from the presidency. Maduro was sworn in for a second six-year term on January 10, even though his presidency has been declared null and void by 13 of Venezuela’s neighbors. Brazil’s government issued a statement on January 12 saying it recognized Juan Guaido, the president of the National Assembly of Venezuela, as the country’s rightful president and welcomed Guaido’s readiness to “constitutionally assume the Venezuelan presidency.”

Guaido, speaking to a crowd of around 1,000 opposition supporters in Caracas on January 11, said that the nation’s constitution gives the legislature the right to assume transitional power after declaring Maduro a “usurper,” but that removing Maduro would need military backing, and people taking to the streets to demand change.

“Is it enough to lean on the constitution in a dictatorship? No. It needs to be the people, the military, and the international community that lead us to take over,” said Guaido.

The New York Times reported on January 13 that Guaido was briefly arrested two days after delivering his speech to supporters. A video recorded by a motorist appeared to show masked, heavily armed agents from the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service pulling Guaido from his vehicle and pushing him into a van and then driving away.

However, Guaido was released shortly afterward, according to Edward Rodriguez, the head of communications for the National Assembly.

Jorge Rodriguez, the Venezuelan communications minister, said that Guaido’s arrest was “arbitrary” and was not been ordered by the government. “We have learned that there has been an irregular situation where a group of officials, acting unilaterally, initiated an irregular procedure against congressman Juan Guaido,” said the minister, adding that the matter had been “solved.”

AFP reported that U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton said that the Trump administration “resolutely supports the Venezuelan National Assembly, the only legitimate branch of government duly elected by the Venezuelan people,” and especially supports “the courageous decision” by Guaido to “declare that Maduro does not legitimately hold the country's presidency.”

In Washington, Organization of American States Secretary General Luis Almagro recognized Guaido as head of state, tweeting: “We welcome the assumption of @jguaido as interim President of Venezuela.”

Venezuela’s Crude Oil Exports to U.S. Declining Sharply </s> Video shows the moment when Juan Guaido, the president of the National Assembly of Venezuela, was arrested.

Juan Guaido, president of the National Assembly of Venezuela, was detained this Sunday near the capital Caracas, by the secret police of Nicolas Maduro, reported Carlos Vecchio, the National Political Coordinator of Voluntad Popular. </s> MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The European Parliament on Thursday dealt a huge blow Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro by recognizing Juan Guaidó as ‘the legitimate interim president of Venezuela.’

‘The result of the vote was 439 votes in favor, 104 against and 88 abstentions,’ said Antonio Tajani, president of the organization.

After the vote, Tajani urged all member states of the European Union to take “a unique and strong position” with respect to the crisis in the country.

Guaidó said on Thursday that his recognition by the European Parliament is a “great step” in his struggle for democracy in Venezuela.

“We have taken a big step in our fight for democracy! We appreciate the decision of the European Parliament to recognize all the effort that we Venezuelans have put forward for the restoration of constitutional order,” he posted on his Twitter account.

Four major European member states had told Maduro to call new elections by the weekend or they will recognize Guaidó.

Maduro has refused to budge, calling international support for Guaidó a coup d’état led by US President Donald Trump.

Guaidó, leader of the democratically elected National Assembly was recognized last week as the legitimate president of Venezuela by dozens of nations, including the United States.

The leader of the country’s National Assembly has called Maduro the “usurper” of power.

Maduro had won presidential elections last May in which the opposition was not allowed to take part and which the international community called fraudulent.

The National Assembly called Maduro’s second six-year term “illegitimate,” and Guaidó became interim president of the nation, as per the Venezuelan constitution.

Guaidó has called for a new round of worldwide protests for Saturday.

Maduro has jailed hundreds since Guaidó became interim president on January 23, 700 just in one day, and at least 40 have been killed in the streets, according to the United Nations.

International journalists from France, Chile have also been jailed covering the events in Venezuela. </s> Juan Guaidó has parliamentary immunity because of his position as president of the National Assembly IVAN ALVARADO/REUTERS

Venezuela’s opposition leader Juan Guaidó has been stripped of immunity from prosecution in a move that could pave the way to his arrest.

The country’s rival president labelled the move a “cowardly” attempt to stifle a popular uprising against President Maduro’s “miserable and murderous” regime.

“The people are determined and nothing is going to stop us,” he said. “There is no turning back in this process.”

The country’s constituent assembly, which is backed by President Maduro, acted on a request from the Supreme Court to remove the parliamentary immunity possessed by Mr Guaido because of his position as president of the National Assembly.

He is accused of violating the constitution by declaring himself interim president in January.

The Trump administration has previously warned that there… </s> Juan Guaido, head of Venezuela's opposition-run congress, speaks to supporters at a rally where he declared himself interim president until new elections can be called in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2019. The opposition rally was called to demand President Nicolas Maduro's resignation. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

A 35-year-old opposition leader who up until two weeks ago was a complete unknown to the vast majority of Venezuelans has declared himself the embattled nation's interim president as leader Nicolas Maduro clings to power. Here's a look at what happened in Venezuela on Wednesday:

After years of infighting, Venezuela's opposition united behind Juan Guaido earlier this month and began calling for mass protests to be held Wednesday demanding President Nicolas Maduro give up power after being sworn in for a contested second term Jan. 10.

Though the opposition has struggled to motivate tired and skeptical Venezuelans since months of unrest in 2017 resulted in 120 dead, Guaido managed to strike a nerve by laying out in simple terms a plan of action for a new government.

He argued to Venezuelans that as president of the National Assembly, he has the authority under the constitution to step in when the chief executive office is vacated. He contends Maduro's re-election last May was fraudulent and should not be recognized.

On Wednesday, tens of thousands heeded the call to take to the streets across Venezuela, a turnout fed by widespread anger over Venezuela's runaway inflation and shortages of food and medicine.

Guaido capped the protest with a speech before a swarm of supporters in which he took a symbolic oath swearing himself in as interim president, saying he was upholding the constitution by assuming the top post.

Dressed in jeans and a blue blazer, the young leader told a jubilant crowd that he would work to restore democracy and continue fighting until all Venezuelans have bread on the table, electricity at home and medicine in their hospitals.

The Trump administration quickly responded by recognizing Guaido as president. Over a dozen nations in the region followed suit.

Only a handful of countries that have long backed Maduro said they would continue to back the socialist leader as president.

Guaido has already begun taking action as if he is president. However, neither the military nor any branch of government aside from the opposition-controlled legislature have signaled that they will recognize him as leader.

The socialist leader who took the helm of Venezuela's presidency following the death of Hugo Chavez in 2013 announced that he was severing diplomatic relations with the United States in response to its recognition of Guaido.

In a speech from a balcony of the presidential palace, Maduro stood by his position that he was legitimately elected and gave U.S. diplomats 72 hours to leave the nation. Socialist party heavyweight Diosdado Cabello and other high-ranking allies pledged to stand behind Maduro and denounced Guaido.

Adding to the growing confrontation, the U.S. government announced Wednesday night that it will ignore Maduro's order and keep its diplomats in Caracas.
Venezuelan National Assembly-declared interim President Juan Guaidó defies Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's threats and returns to Venezuela where he is received by tens of thousands of people in Caracas.