CARACAS, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Venezuelan authorities have arrested more than 30 people on Margarita island for heckling President Nicolas Maduro, activists said on Saturday, in what appeared to be a rare public confrontation with the unpopular leader.

Videos published by activists, purportedly from the Margarita locality of Villa Rosa on Friday night, show scores of people banging pots and pans and jeering the socialist president during a visit to inspect state housing projects.

The display of anger followed a vast march in Caracas on Thursday that opposition leaders say has emboldened Maduros foes after 17 years of socialist rule in the OPEC nation of 30 million people.

After Maduro left Villa Rosa, a rundown area known in the past as a pro-government stronghold, intelligence agents moved in, opposition and rights campaigners said.

Right now, there are more than 30 people detained ... as a result of the incident in Villa Rosa, Alfredo Romero of Penal Forum rights group said on Twitter.

The government did not comment on the incident in detail, but Information Minister Luis Marcano published a video on Twitter showing Maduro blowing kisses, pumping his fist and being cheered in Margarita.

What you didnt see in the videos manipulated by the right wing, Marcano wrote.