--- description: Venezuelan intelligence agents arrested the mayor of San Cristobal on Wednesday, while another opposition mayor was jailed title: Venezuela Arrests Opposition Mayor image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7b2707ac81975de2/69868649e53abab35b4d193f/479583301.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Venezuela](/tag/venezuela/) ## Venezuela Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Venezuela Arrests One Mayor and Imprisons Another in a Widening Crackdown  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 20, 2014 9:27 AM CUT  Venezuelan opposition students take part in a protest against the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas on March 19, 2014. Venezuelan opposition students take part in a protest against the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas on March 19, 2014.JUAN BARRETO—AFP/Getty Images  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 20, 2014 9:27 AM CUT Venezuelan intelligence agents [arrested](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/20/us-venezuela-protests-idUSBREA2J02Y20140320 "undefined") the mayor of San Cristobal on Wednesday, while another opposition mayor was sentenced to 10 months in jail for dereliction of duties. [ According](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/20/us-venezuela-protests-idUSBREA2J02Y20140320 "undefined") to Reuters, both mayors stand accused of allowing protesters to barricade city streets, and in the case of the arrested mayor, supporting “irrational violence.” At least 31 people have died in clashes between protesters demanding the resignation of President Nicolas Maduro and police trying to reestablish control over opposition strongholds. \[[Reuters](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/20/us-venezuela-protests-idUSBREA2J02Y20140320 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/31385/venezuela-san-cristobal-mayor-arrested/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/31385/venezuela-san-cristobal-mayor-arrested/"},"headline":"Venezuela Arrests One Mayor and Imprisons Another in a Widening Crackdown","datePublished":"2014-03-20T09:27:37.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T06:51:47.860Z","description":"Intelligence agents arrested the mayor of San Cristobal, a city of 250,000 near the Colombian border, for aiding a \"civil rebellion\"","url":"https://time.com/31385/venezuela-san-cristobal-mayor-arrested/","keywords":["Venezuela","protests","Jail","intelligence","Caracas","opposition","crackdown"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7b2707ac81975de2/69868649e53abab35b4d193f/479583301.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Dan Kedmey","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7b2707ac81975de2/69868649e53abab35b4d193f/479583301.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"VENEZUELA-POLITICS-OPPOSITION-PROTEST","caption":"VENEZUELA-POLITICS-OPPOSITION-PROTEST","creditText":"JUAN BARRETO—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/venezuela/","name":"Venezuela"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/31385/venezuela-san-cristobal-mayor-arrested/","name":"Venezuela Arrests One Mayor and Imprisons Another in a Widening Crackdown"}}]}] ```