Venezuelan Opposition Leader Says Son-In-Law Has Been Kidnapped

Recently, people have associated kidnappings with the government practice of detaining its real or perceived opponents without following the law. They are seen as part of a campaign to repress anti-government protests that broke out after the election results were announced.

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On Tuesday, despite being the first day of school after the holidays, children were nowhere to be seen during morning rush hour in Caracas, and some schools remained closed.

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In a post on X, González said “hooded men, dressed in black” intercepted the vehicle and loaded Tudares “into a gold-colored van.”

He did not say what happened to his 6- and 7-year-old grandchildren.

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CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Self-exiled Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo González, who claims to have defeated President Nicolás Maduro in last year’s presidential election, said his son-in-law was kidnapped Tuesday in Venezuela’s capital.

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“We demand the immediate release of Rafael Tudares and all political prisoners, who are hostages of a regime that knows it is rejected by the vast majority of Venezuelans who spoke with the force of the vote (on July 28),” the coalition said in the statement.

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González had never run for office before July. The Unitary Platform coalition selected him in April as a last-minute stand-in for opposition powerhouse María Corina Machado, who was blocked by the Maduro-controlled Supreme Tribunal of Justice from running for any office.

Meanwhile, Machado denounced that agents had surrounded her mother’s house, set up roadblocks throughout the neighborhood and flown drones in the area.

But it is unclear whether anyone will heed calls to head to the streets with the increased security presence.

Machado last week urged supporters to demonstrate across Venezuela on Thursday, telling them in a video message that Maduro will not step down on his own and they “must make him leave.” Maduro has asked his supporters to demonstrate Friday.

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