Machado was released after a brief detention while leaving a protest in Caracas Thursday on the eve of President Nicolas Maduro’s inauguration.

The brief arrest of Maria Corina Machado provoked swift condemnations from political leaders across the globe.

Machado's reappearrance coincided with the announcement of Edmundo González in the Dominican Republic of returning to Caracas to assume the presidency.View on euronews

Government officials, including Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, said her arrest was fabricated by the opposition in a bid to generate support for her movement.

Aides to Maria Corina Machado say the Venezuela opposition leader has been arrested when her convoy was intercepted by security forces as it departed an anti-government protest in Caracas.

Fear of repression in Venezuela has escalated in recent days as the inauguration of Maduro's third term approaches on Friday, following last year's contested presidential election, CNN reported

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado confirmed her safety after her aides reported she was “intercepted” during a protest in Caracas, just ahead of President Nicolas Maduro’s inauguration,

Machado’s appearance at the rally was her first public appearance in months, since a government crackdown on Venezeulan opposition figures and their supporters last year.

During her detention, an aide said, Maria Corina Machado “was forced to record several videos.” She has garnered enormous support for her opposition to Nicolás Maduro.

Maria Corina Machado, the Venezuelan opposition leader, was ‘kidnapped’ from the streets on Thursday, her allies have said.

Venezuela opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was freed on Thursday after a brief detention, her Vente Venezuela movement said on social media.