President-elect Donald Trump gave Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro a stern warning on Thursday not to harm his country’s opposition leader.

Machado, a former lawmaker who has spearheaded the opposition to President Nicolas Maduro in recent years, was detained by security agents who shot at motorcycles she was using to leave a protest in Caracas, the capital, according to posts on social media from her party. She was freed about an hour later, according to the party.

Venezuela opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was detained at a march in Caracas on Thursday in her first public appearance in months and her ally, former presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez, demanded she be freed immediately.

Maria Corina Machado, a 57-year-old engineer with rock-star appeal, became the fearless figurehead of Venezuela's opposition after being barred from challenging strongman Nicolas Maduro in elections last July.

Venezuela’s opposition leader María Corina Machado defies Maduro to lead protests that ended with her brief arrest.View on euronews

During her detention, an aide said, Maria Corina Machado “was forced to record several videos.” She has garnered enormous support for her opposition to Nicolás Maduro.

Machado was arrested by government security forces Thursday as she left a rally in Caracas on the eve of Maduro's inauguration after a widely discredited election.

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said she is now safe after her aides said she was “intercepted” at a protest in Caracas on the eve of President Nicolas Maduro’s inauguration.

Though she was released within two hours, the reported arrest of María Corina Machado on Thursday marks a significant escalation by Nicolás Maduro’s regime in Venezuela.

Aides to Venezuela opposition leader María Corina Machado say she was detained but they've been contradicted by authorities who accuse government opponents of trying to spark an international crisis