Venezuelan police detain former mayor Javier Oropeza in Barquisimeto as government and opposition begin talks

In Venezuela, police detained former Torres mayor Javier Oropeza in Barquisimeto on Thursday, the same day the government and opposition began a second round of U.S.-sponsored negotiations. Oropeza, an opposition figure, had returned from exile in Spain only two days earlier. Opposition leaders, including María Corina Machado, denounced the arrest as arbitrary and demanded his release. The detention comes amid ongoing political tensions following the disputed 2024 re-election of Nicolás Maduro and a subsequent wave of repression.