CARACAS – Venezuela's attorney-general on March 9 announced the arrest of a regional campaign leader for opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, citing alleged conspiracy, among other crimes.

Attorney-General Tarek William Saab accused Mr Emill Brandt Ulloa of taking part in violent demonstrations against the government in January, adding that he will be prosecuted in an anti-terrorism court in Caracas.

Venezuela will hold its next presidential election on July 28, though uncertainty remains over who will be the opposition coalition's candidate, since the country's top court upheld a ban for Ms Machado to run earlier in 2024.

Ms Machado has said her ban was contrived by President Nicolas Maduro's government to protect him from a viable challenger.

The Attorney-General's Office is seeking to avoid the anarchy seen in Haiti at the moment, the Attorney-General wrote in a post on social media platform X when referring to the arrest.

Ms Machado's ally will also be charged with gender-based violence and insulting an official, he noted.

Ms Machado warned earlier on March 9 that the Maduro government had “kidnapped” Mr Brandt.

In January, three regional leaders of Ms Machado's team were arrested and linked to an alleged conspiracy against the government, according to information from the Attorney-General's Office.

The Attorney-General said at the time that they were part of a group of at least 11 people who allegedly tried to rob a military facility in 2023, to then attack Mr Freddy Bernal, the pro-government governor in the state of Tachira, which borders Colombia. REUTERS