The security chief of Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was arrested Wednesday, less than two weeks before the country’s presidential election, the Vente Venezuela political party said on X (formerly Twitter).

Milciades Ávila, the security chief of opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, was arrested in the early morning when government officials forcibly entered the residence where he was, “violating all legal procedures.” Ávila was accused of committing acts of gender violence against women who attempted to attack Machado and opposition politician Edmundo González last Saturday in the restaurant where they were eating.

Machado, highlighting her long collaboration with Ávila, said that he had helped her on numerous occasions and risked his life to protect her. Machado also claims that the arrest was part of a provocation by the regime to leave them unprotected before July 28. “I hold Nicolás Maduro responsible for the physical integrity of Milciades Ávila and that of the other 24 people from our kidnapped teams and today prisoners of tyranny,”  she said in a post on X. González also condemned Ávila’s detention in a video posted the same day.

On July 28, Venezuela will hold presidential elections. President Nicolás Maduro is running for a third term, while most polls show that González, who is running in Machado’s place after she was banned from running for alleged fraud, is 20 points ahead of him.

Foro Penal, an NGO that aims to promote and defend human rights, reported that 114 arbitrary detentions for political reasons have taken place in Venezuela so far in 2024, of which 102 arrests are related to the team of Maria Corina Machado and opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez. In total, 301 political prisoners have been registered in the country, including both military personnel and civilians.