Opponents of Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro poured into the streets to condemn the arrest of Caracas’ mayor for allegedly participating in a US-backed plot to overthrow his government.
The protests came a day after an armed commando unit dressed in camouflage raided mayor Antonio Ledezma’s office and hauled him away.
The detention, recorded by security cameras, set off a wave of spontaneous demonstrations in middle-class neighbourhoods loyal to the Opposition.
A few hundred supporters gathered peacefully last Friday to denounce Mr Ledezma’s “kidnapping”.
The mayor was charged with conspiracy, a crime punishable by eight to 16 years in jail, and sent last night to a military prison outside Caracas where other prominent government foes are being held.
The arrest of the 59-year-old mayor, one of Mr Maduro’s fiercest critics, comes as the government struggles to avert a crisis years in the making but made worse by a recent tumble in oil prices.
The President’s approval rating was hovering around 22 per cent last month, the lowest in 16 years of socialist rule, as Venezuelans are forced to cope with widespread shortages, runaway inflation and a plunge in the currency that shows little sign of abating.
Mr Maduro has taken to the airwaves in recent days to rail against his opponents.
He accuses them of conspiring with the US to sabotage the oil-dependent economy, sow chaos and carry out a coup timed to coincide with the anniversary this month of 2014 anti-government protests that left more than 40 dead.
As part of the crackdown, he has also seized control of a major retail chain, jailed several executives and handed more power to the military to control protests and smoke out saboteurs.
However, the dire situation has not translated into support for the frequently out-manoeuvred Opposition.
Turnout at Friday’s demonstration was the largest for an anti-government rally in months.
But it was nowhere near the throngs that rocked cities a year ago, a sign of the steep challenge the Opposition still faces connecting with mistrustful voters ahead of legislative elections later this year.