He emerged as one of the leaders behind the Venezuelan Student Movement, which formed as a result of actions by Hugo Chávez to amass further power as the country's president.

[4] At the time, Peruvian novelist Mario Vargas Llosa called Goicoechea, "a symbol of… democratic reaction when freedom is threatened.

"[5] After receiving the Prize, Goicoechea experienced harassment in Venezuela, and state-run television depicted him as a cartoon clutching wards of cash stamped with the words "Made in USA.

[8] After leaving the Primero Justicia political party, Goicoechea joined another opposition organization, Popular Will, and campaigned for the recall referendum against president Nicolás Maduro.

[14] On August 31, 2016 and after his lawyer, Nizar El Fakih, filed a lawsuit for unlawful detention and imprisonment,[15] Goicoechea was taken to an arraignment court in Caracas.