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> CARABALLEDA, Venezuela—The head of Venezuela’s legislature was briefly detained Sunday by the country’s secret police, as international pressure mounts on authoritarian leader Nicolás Maduro.

The detention came days after Juan Guaidó, the 35-year-old lawmaker who chairs Venezuela’s National Assembly, said he was willing to assume the presidency. </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> 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> The head of Venezuela's opposition-controlled parliament was briefly detained days after saying he was ready to assume the country's presidency.

A video posted on social media appears to show the moment intelligence agents intercept Juan Guaidó's car in a busy road north of the capital, Caracas.

Two journalists detained while covering the case have also been released.

President Nicolás Maduro was sworn in for a second six-year term on Thursday. The opposition calls him illegitimate.

Mr Guaidó - who said on Friday he was ready to assume the Venezuelan presidency on an interim basis - was detained while he was on his way to a political rally in the northern state of Vargas, opposition members said.

His wife, Fabiana Rosales, who announced the detention on Twitter, and daughter were travelling with him, according to local media reports.

Mr Guaidó is the speaker of the National Assembly, which has been stripped of powers by the Supreme Court. Mr Maduro dismissed his comments as a "show".

The detained journalists have been named as Beatriz Adrián, from Colombia's Caracol television, and Osmary Hernández, who works for CNN's Spanish news channel. </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> MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Venezuelan lawmakers have stripped opposition leader Juan Guaidó of his immunity from prosecution.

This happened in the National Constituent Assembly making his arrest and prosecution a possibility. The National Constituent Assembly is comprised only by members of embattled President Nicolás Maduro’s political party.

On Monday, Venezuela’s Supreme Court announced Guaidó had been found under contempt for leaving the country after being barred from traveling. </s> Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó's deputy has been detained by the country's intelligence services.

Edgar Zambrano, vice president of the National Assembly, refused to leave his car when approached, and as a result he and his car were towed to prison.

It is the first arrest of an opposition figure since attempts to spark a military rebellion against President Nicolás Maduro last week.

Mr Guaidó is recognised as "interim president" by more than 50 nations.

Democratic Action party leader Carlos Prosperi told reporters that he had been at a party meeting with Mr Zambrano in the capital Caracas moments before he was arrested by agents from Venezuela's Bolivarian Intelligence Service (Sebin).

"The vehicle was surrounded," he said. "They [Sebin agents] wouldn't allow us to get to him. They brought a tow truck and his vehicle was towed away."

He added that they believe he was taken to El Helicoide, a notorious prison in the centre of the city.

"We don't know anything about what physical condition he's in and we don't know what is happening at El Helicoide at the moment," Mr Prosperi said.

Mr Guaidó also tweeted about the arrest, calling Mr Zambrano's arrest - in particular, the towing of his car - "absurd".

The arrest comes one day after Venezuela's Supreme Court ordered that Mr Zambrano and six other National Assembly deputies be charged with treason for their alleged participation in the failed military uprising.

"One of the principal conspirators of the coup has just been arrested," Diosdado Cabello, head of the pro-Maduro Constituent Assembly, told state TV. "They will have to pay before the courts for the failed coup that they have attempted."

What has happened since last week's clashes?

On 1 May, both pro and anti-government supporters held demonstrations in Caracas which were initially peaceful.

But there were soon reports of gunfire in the city, and a local NGO, the Venezuelan Observatory of Social Conflict, said Jurubith Rausseo, 27, had been shot dead during a rally in the opposition stronghold of Altamira.

On Tuesday, Mr Guaidó declared what he called the "final phase" of the operation to topple Mr Maduro. He posted a video of him with a number of men in uniform and said he had the support of "brave soldiers" in Caracas.

He urged Venezuelans to join them on the streets, and appeared alongside another opposition leader, Leopoldo López, who had been under house arrest after being found guilty of inciting violence during protests in 2014.

Four people died in the clashes, including two teenagers, and another 46 people were injured.

Mr Guaidó declared himself Venezuela's interim leader in January. As the head of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, he invoked the constitution to assume an interim presidency, arguing that Mr Maduro's re-election last year was illegitimate.

The opposition leader, who is president of the National Assembly, has the support of more than 50 countries, including the US, UK and most Latin American nations.

On Sunday, he told the BBC that he would consider asking the US to stage a military intervention.

But Mr Maduro - who is backed by Russia, China and the leaders of Venezuela's military - has refused to cede power. </s> Juan Guaidó says he knows he runs the risk of being arrested for pushing to oust Nicolas Maduro.

But a defiant Guaidó said Tuesday that he is undeterred. The 35-year-old opposition leader spoke publicly moments after an assembly loyal to Maduro stripped him of his immunity from prosecution.

The move by the National Constituent Assembly paves the way for his prosecution and potential arrest for supposedly violating the constitution when he declared himself interim president.

Guaidó has backing from more than 50 nations, including the United States, which reject Maduro as illegitimately elected.

Maduro blames Washington for trying to install a puppet government to seize Venezuela's vast oil reserves.
The President of the National Assembly of Venezuela, Juan Guaidó, is briefly detained in Caracas after saying he was prepared to assume the country's presidency.