Enrique Márquez (Venezuelan politician)
Enrique Márquez | |
|---|---|
Márquez in 2024 | |
| Vicepresident of National Electoral Council | |
| In office 5 May 2021 – 20 June 2023 | |
| President | Pedro Calzadilla |
| Preceded by | Leonardo Morales Poleo |
| Succeeded by | Carlos Quintero |
| Member of the National Assembly for Zulia | |
| In office 5 January 2011 – 5 January 2021 | |
| In office 14 August 2000 – 5 January 2006 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Enrique Octavio Márquez Pérez 19 May 1963 Maracaibo, Venezuela |
| Party | Radical Cause |
| Alma mater | University of Zulia |
Enrique Octavio Márquez Pérez[a] (born 19 May 1963) is a Venezuelan opposition leader and was a candidate in Venezuela's 2024 presidential election. On January 7, 2025, he was arrested by security forces and accused of planning a coup. He was released during the 2026 political prisoner release in Venezuela.
Early life and education
Márquez was born in Maracaibo and attended the University of Zulia where he studied electrical engineering; he later taught there after getting a graduate degree in the United Kingdom.[1]
Political career
His political life began in co-founding the 20th Movement (student mobilization against the political system) at the university.[1] He later joined the syndicalist La Causa Radical party. He was elected deputy to the National Assembly for Zulia, 2000–2006, representing the party. In 2006 he joined the presidential campaign of Manuel Rosales who competed against Chávez[2] In March 2007, he supported the No the option to the 2007 constitutional referendum, a defeat for Hugo Chávez in his attempt to expand government powers. Elected to two further terms in the assembly, 2011–2021, he was vice-president of the National Assembly from 2016 to 2017. In the 2017 referendum he supported the opposition option.[3] Representing the Centrados party,[4] Márquez was a candidate for Venezuela's 2024 presidential elections. Along with Edmundo González, they were the only candidates to refuse to sign an agreement with the government of Nicolás Maduro before the 2024 election to respect the outcome of the election.[5] His presidential candidacy was endorsed by the several parties, including the Communist Party of Venezuela.[6]
Arrest and release
Márquez was vigorous in accusing Maduro of fixing the 2024 presidential election,[7][8] which was "plagued with irregularities."[9] He was arrested along with six other opposition leaders in January 2025. At the same time other opponents disappeared or were kidnapped.[10] During captivity he was isolated, had no legal defense and was not put on trial.[11]
According to Márquez, he passed the first seven days in prison handcuffed, interrogated frequently. He passed three months without seeing sunlight and 10 months incommunicado.[12]
Release
He was freed on January 8, 2026, along with various other political prisoners, after the U.S. capture of Maduro.[13] During the 2026 State of the Union Address in United States, president Donald Trump celebrated the capture of Nicolás Maduro and invited Márquez. Márquez reunited with his niece, Trump said to her "I’m pleased to inform you that not only has your uncle been released, but he is here tonight”.[14]
References
- ^ In this Hispanic American name, the first or paternal surname is Márquez and the second or maternal family name is Pérez.
- ^ a b "Enrique Márquez: "Con la fórmula unitaria en la AN habrá cambio democrático y control de recursos"". Noticia al Dia. Archived from the original on 2011-12-12. Retrieved 2026-01-11.
- ^ "Enrique Márquez salió del SEBIN este 8 de enero, justo después de cumplirse un año de detención". Contrapunto (in Spanish). 2026-01-10. Retrieved 2026-01-11.
- ^ Quesada, Juan Diego (2024-03-31). "Enrique Márquez, Maduro's opponent at the polls: 'Even if Chavismo doesn't want to, it must accept defeat'". EL PAÍS English (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-01-10.
- ^ "Only a handful of political prisoners freed so far in Venezuela".
- ^ "Document signed by presidential candidates backs peace in Venezuela - Prensa Latina". 2024-06-21. Retrieved 2026-01-11.
- ^ "La legítima militancia comunista no apoya la candidatura presidencial de Nicolás Maduro". Tribuna Popular (in Spanish). 2024-03-22. Retrieved 2026-01-11.
- ^ 🔴URGENTE OPOSITOR ENRIQUE MÁRQUEZ EXPLOTÓ CONTRA MADURO. elambito. 2024-08-23. Retrieved 2026-01-11 – via YouTube.
- ^ Enrique Marquez: "El primer boletín no se imprimió en el totalizador del CNE"... Fraude de Maduro. La burbuja kirchnerista. 2024-07-29. Retrieved 2026-01-11 – via YouTube.
- ^ Erdosain, Remo (2025-01-09). "What the PSL (and the Campist Left) Gets Wrong about Venezuela". Left Voice. Retrieved 2026-01-11.
- ^ Alberto Rodriguez (2025-01-08). "Confirman detención de Enrique Márquez, excandidato presidencial y exvicepresidente del CNE". AlbertoNews (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-01-11.
- ^ DBorges (2025-04-07). "Andrés Caleca: «Enrique Márquez cumple tres meses secuestrado, aislado y sin defensa legal»". AlbertoNews (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-01-11.
- ^ "Venezuelan former presidential hopeful urges unity after prison release and Maduro's ouster". AP News. 2026-02-27. Retrieved 2026-03-01.
- ^ Kurmanaev, Anatoly (January 9, 2026). "Freed Venezuelan political prisoner called Maduro's fraud to his face".
- ^ Munoz, Alejandra Jaramillo, Lex Harvey, Rocio (2026-02-25). "Freed Venezuelan political prisoner reunites with niece at Trump's State of the Union address". CNN. Retrieved 2026-02-25.
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