The movement says: Venezuelan opposition leader Machado has been released, by Reuters

Written by Maila Armas, Vivian Sequeira and Daisy Buitrago

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was released on Thursday after being briefly detained, her Fente Venezuela movement said on social media.

The movement said that Machado was arrested after an anti-government march in Caracas, in her first public appearance in months, amid gunfire, adding that during her arrest she was forced to film several video clips.

Earlier, her ally, former presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez, demanded her immediate release, with government officials, including Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, saying her arrest was an “invention and a lie.”

Vente Venezuela said Machado was “violently intercepted” in eastern Caracas, and that the convoy of motorcycles she was riding in came under fire.

The opposition is organizing protests across the country in a continuing attempt to pressure President Nicolas Maduro before his third inauguration on Friday.