Venezuelan former presidential hopeful urges unity after prison release and Maduro's ouster

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan politician Enrique Márquez, who spent more than a year in prison after challenging the 2024 presidential election results, on Friday called on the country's political opposition and the ruling party to take advantage of the circumstances forced by the ouster of former President Nicolás Maduro and work together for the country's recovery.

Márquez's plea to “lock up egos in a drawer” followed his surprise appearance during U.S. President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address earlier this week. Márquez was released from prison in the days after the U.S. military captured Maduro in Venezuela’s capital and took him to New York to face drug trafficking charges.

“We have been killing each other in a relentless political war,” Márquez said during a news conference that at times seemed like the kick-off of a campaign. “If we don’t break the rearview mirror and look ahead, we won’t find our way.”

Márquez ran for president in the 2024 contest, where the ruling party-loyal National Electoral Council declared Maduro winner despite ample credible evidence that he had lost to opposition candidate Edmundo González. Márquez challenged the council’s decision, asking the country’s high court to nullify the results it presented.

Márquez, a former member of the National Electoral Council, was detained in January 2025. He told reporters Friday that he spent his first seven days in detention handcuffed and was interrogated around the clock. He remained incommunicado for 10 months, three of which he was kept from getting sunlight.

Authorities detained him on charges of terrorism, hatred and treason. He said he never faced trial for the trumped up charges, eventually receiving amnesty after acting President Delcy Rodríguez earlier this month signed into law a measure allowing it.

Rodríguez was sworn in as interim president following Maduro’s capture on Jan. 3. Márquez lauded her decision to push for an amnesty law and an overhaul of Venezuela's oil industry since assuming her new role. He also acknowledged he has not spoken with opposition leader María Corina Machado since he was released from a prison were human rights watchdogs have extensively documented torture and other abuses against detainees.

He sidestepped questions over whether he would run for president again but said he does not see an election taking place soon.

“My intention is to become a unifying force,” he said of potentially being a bridge between the opposition and the ruling party. “The role I want to play, and hope to be able to play, is that of a builder, helping to build the future.”

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Venezuelan opposition politician Enrique Marquez speaks to the press in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Venezuelan opposition politician Enrique Marquez speaks to the press in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Feb 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Venezuelan opposition politician Enrique Marquez speaks to the press in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Venezuelan opposition politician Enrique Marquez speaks to the press in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Feb 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Friday that 30 more people have been indicted for allegedly taking part in an anti-immigration enforcement protest at a Minnesota church.

In a social media post, Bondi said 25 people had been arrested with more arrests to come later in the day.

“YOU CANNOT ATTACK A HOUSE OF WORSHIP. If you do so, you cannot hide from us — we will find you, arrest you, and prosecute you,” she wrote in the post. “This Department of Justice STANDS for Christians and all Americans of faith.”

Those arrested will have an initial court appearance and a magistrate judge will set conditions for their release.

Others arrested include independent journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort, and prominent local activist Nekima Levy Armstrong, who was the subject of a doctored photo posted by the White House showing her crying during her arrest. They have pleaded not guilty to civil rights charges.

In total, 39 people have been charged over the church protest and all are charged with conspiracy against religious freedom and interfering with the right of religious freedom.

Protesters descended on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Jan. 18 after learning that one of the church’s pastors also serves as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement official. The protest drew swift condemnation from Trump administration officials and conservative leaders for disrupting a Sunday service.

The indictment says the “agitators” entered the church in a “coordinated takeover-style attack” and engaged in acts of intimidation and obstruction.

“Young children were left to wonder, as one child put it, if their parents were going to die,” the indictment says.

A lawyer for the church praised the Justice Department for charging more people.

“The First Amendment does not give anyone — regardless of profession, prominence, or politics — license to storm a church and intimidate, threaten, and terrorize families and children worshipping inside,” Doug Wardlow said in a statement.

The revised indictment adds new allegations when compared to the original filed in January.

It says two people “conducted reconnaissance” outside the church a day before the protest and recorded their visit on video, with one saying, “My thoughts are to be able to close up this whole alleyway right here.”

The video was sent to Armstrong, who is accused of helping to lead the effort, to use to prepare for the protest, the indictment says.

Armstrong has pleaded not guilty and said she and others were being targeted for speaking out against the “the tyranny of the Trump administration.”

The church protest came amid a tense couple months for Minnesota, where the Trump administration sent thousands of federal officers for Operation Metro Surge after a series of government fraud cases where the majority of defendants had Somali roots. Federal officers frequently deployed tear gas for crowd control in neighborhood clashes with activists, often detaining them along with immigrants.

On Jan. 7, a federal officer shot and killed 37-year-old mother Renee Good in south Minneapolis. In another fatal shooting one week after the church protest, a federal officer killed 37-year-old nurse Alex Pretti.

Nationwide demonstrations erupted in response, followed by a change in Operation Metro Surge’s leadership and the eventual wind-down of the immigration enforcement operation in mid-February.

Since then, the Twin Cities have grappled with the impact to communities and the local economy. The city of Minneapolis said it suffered an impact of $203.1 million due to the operation, with tens of thousands of residents in need of urgent relief assistance.

FILE - Cities Church is seen in St. Paul, Minn. where activists shut down a service claiming the pastor was also working as an ICE agent, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026 in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis, File)