{"id":496628,"date":"2026-01-03T16:24:50","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T20:24:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.net\/en\/uncategorized\/forcible-arrests-kidnappings-and-captures-of-heads-of-state-or-governments\/"},"modified":"2026-01-03T16:24:50","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T20:24:50","slug":"forcible-arrests-kidnappings-and-captures-of-heads-of-state-or-governments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/international\/forcible-arrests-kidnappings-and-captures-of-heads-of-state-or-governments\/","title":{"rendered":"Forcible arrests, kidnappings, and captures of heads of state or governments"},"content":{"rendered":"The capture of Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro<\/strong>, reported amid an escalation of international tension, has once again placed at the center of the global debate the historical episodes in which heads of state or government have been arrested, kidnapped or forcibly detained<\/strong>, generally in scenarios of political crisis, coups d’\u00e9tat or foreign interventions.\n\n\n

Latin America: Coups d’\u00e9tat and institutional breakdowns<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\nThe Latin American region has been a recurring scene of the forced detention of leaders:\n\n\n
    \n
  • Manuel Zelaya \u2013 Honduras (2009):<\/strong>
    Constitutional president overthrown by the military, taken from his residence and expelled from the country in his pajamas during a coup d’\u00e9tat.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Pedro Castillo \u2013 Peru (2022):<\/strong>
    Incumbent president arrested after announcing the closure of Congress. His supporters called the event a political kidnapping, while the authorities considered it a breach of constitutional order.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Juan Bosch \u2013 Dominican Republic (1963):<\/strong>
    Elected president overthrown by the military, briefly detained and sent into exile after a coup d’\u00e9tat that interrupted the democratic order.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Africa: Military Captures and Political Violence<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\nIn Africa, the retention of leaders has marked abrupt changes of power:\n\n\n
      \n
    • Patrice Lumumba \u2013 Congo (1960):<\/strong>
      Prime Minister kidnapped, imprisoned, and later assassinated, in an episode involving local forces and foreign powers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Alpha Cond\u00e9 \u2013 Guinea (2021):<\/strong>
      President captured by coup-plotting military personnel, recorded on video, and publicly removed from office.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Mohamed Bazoum \u2013 Niger (2023):<\/strong>
      Incumbent President held inside the presidential palace following a military coup.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      Middle East: Overthrows and Foreign Interventions<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
        \n
      • Saddam Hussein \u2013 Iraq (2003):<\/strong>
        President captured by US forces after the invasion of Iraq, which sealed the collapse of his regime.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Hosni Mubarak \u2013 Egypt (2011):<\/strong>
        President arrested after being overthrown during the Arab Spring and held in custody by the Egyptian state.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

        Europe: arrests in war contexts<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
          \n
        • Benito Mussolini \u2013 Italy (1943):<\/strong>
          Head of Government arrested by order of the king, later rescued by Nazi forces and later executed after the definitive fall of the fascist regime.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

          Asia: Contemporary Military Coups<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
            \n
          • Aung San Suu Kyi \u2013 Myanmar (2021):<\/strong>
            De facto leader and head of government detained by the military during a coup that ended a democratic transition process.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

            The Parallel with Venezuela<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\nThese historical backgrounds show that the detention or capture of a head of state usually marks profound breaks in power<\/strong>, accompanied by far-reaching social, political, and geopolitical consequences.\n\nIn the Venezuelan case, Nicol\u00e1s Maduro has faced for years international accusations, economic sanctions, and strong diplomatic pressure<\/strong>, including accusations from the United States for alleged drug trafficking and human rights violations.","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            The capture of Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, reported amid an escalation of international tension, has once again placed at the center of the global debate the historical episodes in which heads of state or government have been arrested, kidnapped or forcibly detained, generally in scenarios of political crisis, coups d’\u00e9tat or foreign interventions. Latin America: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":496629,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[95],"tags":[15851,40230,110],"class_list":["post-496628","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-international","tag-nicolas-maduro","tag-united-states","tag-venezuela"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/phj1q1-25c8","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/01\/Copia-de-Post-de-Instagram-Feliz-Cumpleanos-Sencillo-Minimalista-Azul-1000-x-500-px-1000-x-500-px-2026-01-03T162354.913.jpg","dum_api":{"author_name":"Redacci\u00f3n De \u00daltimo Minuto","author_image":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/cropped-logo-de-ultimo-minuto-96x96.png","categories_name":["International"],"featured_media_url":"https:\/\/cdn.deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/01\/Copia-de-Post-de-Instagram-Feliz-Cumpleanos-Sencillo-Minimalista-Azul-1000-x-500-px-1000-x-500-px-2026-01-03T162354.913.jpg"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/496628","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=496628"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/496628\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/496629"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=496628"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=496628"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deultimominuto.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=496628"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}