Following his capture by security forces on Sunday, Venezuelan opposition politician Juan Pablo Guanipa has been returned to his home, where he is currently under house arrest, according to his son.

Ramón Guanipa expressed relief that his family has been reunited, but emphasized that his father's continued detention is unwarranted.

Opposition leader María Corina Machado reported that Guanipa was taken into custody by heavily armed individuals in Caracas on Sunday, just hours after his initial release from prison, along with other political prisoners.

In a subsequent statement, Interior and Justice Minister Diosdado Cabello confirmed that an individual had been rearrested for allegedly violating the terms of their release.

Cabello stated on Monday that some politicians apparently believed they could act with impunity.

Guanipa, a former vice-president of the National Assembly, had spent eight months in prison before being freed, along with several other political prisoners, after the US took action against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January.

In a BBC interview on Tuesday, Ramón Guanipa recounted that his father, the leader of the Justice First party, was initially released from prison on Sunday at approximately 11:00 local time.

After his release, Guanipa spent time with families awaiting the release of other political prisoners.

According to Ramón, his father made public statements, mobilized supporters, and participated in an interview before being detained by unidentified security forces.

Ramón stated that he was informed his father would be returned home and placed under house arrest, but no further details were provided regarding the timing of his transport.

Later on Tuesday, Ramón posted an update on his father's X account, confirming that Juan Pablo Guanipa was back at their home in Maracaibo and expressing relief that their family would soon be reunited.

However, Ramón emphasized that his father remains unjustly detained, as house arrest is still a form of imprisonment, and called for his full freedom, as well as that of all political prisoners.

Ramón expressed gratitude to the US government, including President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, for their support of freedom in Venezuela and their efforts on behalf of political prisoners.

The Justice First party had previously stated that the 61-year-old Guanipa was kidnapped by government forces while traveling between locations.

The party reported that those accompanying Guanipa were warned that weapons were pointed at them before he was taken away in a car.

The Justice First party held Delcy Rodríguez, Jorge Rodríguez, and Diosdado Cabello accountable for any harm that might come to Guanipa, referencing the interim president, National Assembly speaker, and interior minister, respectively.

The party also urged the international community to demand Guanipa's immediate release and an end to the Venezuelan government's persecution of opposition members.

After Guanipa's recapture on Sunday, Ramón and opposition figure Edmundo González requested proof of his safety.

According to the Venezuelan human rights group Foro Penal, Guanipa was among at least 30 individuals released from prison on Sunday.

Guanipa was elected governor of the Zulia region in 2017 but was barred from taking office after refusing to swear an oath before Maduro's National Constituent Assembly.

He then went into hiding after being accused of terrorism and treason for challenging the 2024 election results.

Guanipa was eventually tracked down and detained by security forces in May 2025.

Opposition groups and human rights organizations have long maintained that the Maduro government uses detention of political prisoners to suppress dissent and silence critics.

Many political prisoners were detained after the 2024 presidential election, which Maduro claimed to have won despite opposition from his opponents and many countries.

The Venezuelan government has consistently denied holding political prisoners, instead asserting that those detained were arrested for criminal activities.

According to María Corina Machado, a prominent figure in Venezuela's opposition, her colleague Juan Pablo Guanipa was abducted shortly after his release from custody, in a disturbing turn of events.

On Sunday, it was reported that Guanipa, who leads the Justice First party, was taken in the Los Chorros area of Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, sparking concern among his supporters.

In a social media post made early on Monday, Machado described the circumstances of Guanipa's disappearance, stating that a group of heavily armed individuals, dressed in plain clothes and traveling in four vehicles, forcibly took him away.

Guanipa, a former vice-president of the National Assembly, had been imprisoned for eight months before his release, which was part of a broader wave of releases that followed the US action against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January.

The Justice First party, a centre-right political organization, issued a statement alleging that Guanipa's kidnapping was carried out by the "repressive forces" of the government, while he was en route between two locations.

According to individuals who were with him, Guanipa was forced into a vehicle after guns were allegedly trained on the group.

In a social media statement, Justice First assigned responsibility for Juan Pablo Guanipa's safety to several high-ranking Venezuelan officials, including Delcy Rodríguez, Jorge Rodríguez, and Diosdado Cabello, who hold key positions in the government.

The party has urged the global community to call for Guanipa's immediate liberation and an end to the Venezuelan government's alleged harassment of opposition members.

Edmundo González, a prominent opposition figure, has requested confirmation of Guanipa's status, stating that the lack of information regarding his whereabouts is equivalent to a forced disappearance.

In a social media post made just hours prior, Ramón Guanipa, Juan Pablo's son, had expressed optimism about his father's expected release, anticipating a family reunion.

Following his detention, a video was uploaded online in which he called for immediate evidence confirming his father's safety and well-being.

In the video, Ramón Guanipa explicitly stated that he holds the current regime accountable for his father's fate, condemning the ongoing repression and urging an end to it.

According to Foro Penal, an organization that supports political prisoners in Venezuela, Guanipa was one of at least 30 individuals released on Sunday.

As the leader of the Justice First party, Guanipa won the governorship of the Zulia region in the 2017 election; however, he was prevented from assuming office after refusing to take an oath before the National Constituent Assembly established by Maduro.

After questioning the outcome of the 2024 election, Guanipa faced accusations of terrorism and treason, prompting him to go into hiding for his own protection.

In May 2025, Venezuelan security forces located and took him into custody.

According to opposition groups and human rights organizations, the Maduro government has a history of detaining political prisoners as a means of suppressing opposition and quieting critics.

In the deep waters off Argentina, researchers have made a notable discovery, encountering a rare species of jellyfish that is not often seen.

The giant phantom jellyfish, known scientifically as Stygiomedusa gigantea, was captured on film at a depth of 250 metres in the South Atlantic Ocean.

A team of scientists from the Schmidt Ocean Institute has obtained footage of the creature, which can reach a diameter of up to 1 metre (3.3 feet) and has arms that extend up to 10 metres (33 feet) in length.

Characterised by their long, pink, ribbon-like appendages, the four arms of the giant phantom jellyfish are used for capturing prey, including fish and plankton, rather than for stinging, as the institute's findings indicate.

In addition to the jellyfish, the research team's expedition also yielded discoveries of 28 potentially new species, among them corals, sea urchins, and sea anemones.