Il Nuovo Postiglione - Venezuela opposition decry crackdown before Maduro swearing-in

An opposition presidential rival and a press freedom activist were among the latest to be detained, their teams said, amid reports of critics being rounded up and spirited away by hooded men.

Meanwhile Maduro, who frequently claims to be the target of US destabilization plots, said senior FBI and American military officials were among seven so-called "mercenaries" arrested on Tuesday.

Opposition parties reported on social media a wave of fresh arrests ahead of mass anti-Maduro protests called for Thursday -- the eve of Maduro's inauguration to a third six-year term rejected by much of the international community as illegitimate.

The Popular Democratic Front, a coalition of opposition parties, said Enrique Marquez -- who had run against Maduro in last year's July 28 elections -- was "arbitrarily detained" Tuesday.

Marquez supported the victory claim of the main opposition candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, whom the United States, European Union and many of Venezuela's democratic neighbors recognize as the legitimate president-elect.

Marquez's wife Sonia Lugo said Wednesday the regime was trying to "silence and intimidate those who want a better country."

For its part, the Espacio Publico press freedom NGO said it lost contact with its director Carlos Correa on Tuesday afternoon, when witnesses reported he was "intercepted in the center of Caracas by hooded men presumed to be officials" of the regime.

Authorities have not confirmed either arrest.

Exiled Gonzalez Urrutia reported Tuesday that his son-in-law had been "kidnapped," also by hooded men dressed in black.

And opposition figurehead Maria Corina Machado said agents had surrounded her 84-year-old mother's house.

Masses of security forces have been deployed on the capital's streets, and the country is on tenterhooks with pro-Maduro rallies called for Thursday to counter the opposition demonstrations.

Machado has said she would come out of hiding to participate.

- 'Terrorists' -

On Tuesday, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello warned prospective opposition protesters, who he called "fascists" and "terrorists," they would regret turning out "for the rest of your lives."

More than 2,400 people were arrested, 28 killed and about 200 injured in a crackdown on protests that broke out after Maduro claimed election victory.

The opposition says its own tally of polling station results show Gonzalez Urrutia had won by a wide margin.

But the loyalist CNE electoral council announced victory for Maduro within hours of polls closing. It did not provide a vote breakdown.

On a tour to drum up pressure on Maduro to relinquish power, Gonzalez Urrutia was hosted Wednesday by the president of Panama, where he was also to meet a group of former and current Latin American officials before heading to the Dominican Republic.

Previous stops took him to Argentina, Uruguay and Washington -- where he received resounding backing from President Joe Biden and met a senior member of Donald Trump's incoming administration.

The target of an arrest warrant and a $100,000 bounty in Venezuela, Gonzalez Urrutia has vowed to return home to take power without detailing his plan.

A group of nine Latin American ex-presidents who support Gonzalez Urrutia had planned to accompany Gonzalez Urrutia to Venezuela at the end of his foreign tour, but were declared persona non-grata Tuesday by the Venezuelan parliament.

- 'Tyrant' -

Colombia's President Gustavo Petro, historically a leftist ally of Maduro, on Wednesday criticized the reported detentions of Marquez and Correa and said he would not attend Maduro's swearing-in.

Panama's Foreign Minister Javier Martinez-Acha, for his part, described Maduro as a "tyrant," as he accepted the unofficial July 28 voting tally from Gonzalez Urrutia.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was "deeply concerned" by the reported arrests and called for "the respect of international human rights rules and standards in Venezuela," his spokesperson said.

On Tuesday, Maduro activated an "integral defense" plan for the deployment of police and soldiers countrywide, as he alleged a plot to prevent him taking the oath.

The strongman said authorities had arrested seven "mercenaries" Tuesday with "terrorist" intentions.

Apart from the two Americans, they included two Colombian "hitmen" and three Ukrainians.

The arrests add to another 125 foreigners from 25 nationalities Maduro said are being held over "a foreign mercenary aggression financed by the outgoing US government."

Maduro came to power in 2013 following the death of his political mentor Hugo Chavez, and his re-election in 2018 was also widely rejected as fraudulent.

D.Ricci--INP