Today, Venezuelans are called to the polls to elect deputies and governors in elections that the government is expected to win by a large margin. They are boycotted by most of the opposition, notes Agence France-Presse, quoted by BTA.
They are produced ten months after the election of President Nicolas Maduro, whose victory is rejected by the opposition.
More than 400,000 members of the security forces will be deployed for the vote, which will be held from 06:00 to 18:00 local time. Results are expected in the evening.
On Friday, Venezuelan security forces detained Juan Pablo Guanipa, an opposition leader close to opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who is calling for a boycott. The former lawmaker is accused of belonging to a "terrorist network" that authorities say aims to "sabotage" elections.
His arrest sparked protests, especially from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who described it as "unjustified and arbitrary".
In these elections, the Venezuelan government intends to elect a governor and eight deputies for Essequibo - part of the oil-rich neighboring Guyana, to which Caracas has territorial claims, recalls AFP.
Five Venezuelan opposition leaders who had been hiding in the Argentine embassy in Caracas for more than a year arrived in the United States and gave their first press conference since leaving the diplomatic complex, the Associated Press reported.
They described their escape from Venezuela as part of an "unprecedented" rescue operation that is still ongoing. The Venezuelan government denies that it was a rescue operation and says they were saved through negotiations.
"Our rescue, our escape, was an unprecedented operation," Magali Meda told a news conference in Washington. She is part of the opposition group "Vente Venezuela", led by opposition leader Maria Corina Machado.
Meda added that she would not reveal any details about the operation because it was "still ongoing.".
Meda, along with Pedro Uruchurtu, Claudia Macero, Humberto Villalobos, Omar Gonzalez and Fernando Martinez Mottola, had been hiding in the Argentine diplomatic residence in Caracas after Venezuelan prosecutors ordered their arrest. They are accused of encouraging alleged acts of violence aimed at destabilizing the government of President Nicolas Maduro, which has been cracking down on dissent since last year's disputed elections.
Earlier this month, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that "after a precise operation, all the hostages are now safe on American soil."
Meda called their release a "miracle" after 412 days in the diplomatic compound. She described it as a "strategic operation involving many people and enormous risks."
Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, for his part, described the operation as a "staging operation," the AP notes.