Venezuelan opposition candidate claims son-in-law has been kidnapped

Edmundo Gonzalez, the leader of Venezuela’s political opposition, has accused masked men of kidnapping his son-in-law, who remains missing.

Gonzalez, who ran in the country’s contested presidential election in July, announced the news on social media on Tuesday.

“This morning my son-in-law Rafael Tudares was kidnapped”, Gonzalez wrote.

“Rafael was heading to my grandchildren’s school, ages 7 and 6, in Caracas, to drop them off for the start of classes, and he was intercepted by hooded men dressed in black, who put him in a gold-coloured pickup truck with the license plate AA54E2C and took him away. At this time he is missing”.

Gonzalez has claimed that he is the legitimate winner of the presidential election on July 28 and is currently facing an arrest warrant in Venezuela.

With that, Nicolas Maduro, the current president, and him in conflict. On Friday, Maduro will be sworn in for a third term.

The opposition and other Maduro government critics have voiced opposition to the election and the results, which they claim lacked accountability and transparency.

In pre-election polls, it appeared that Maduro favored Gonzalez favorably. However, the electoral body of the nation announced Maduro as the winner shortly after the polls closed, without disclosing the voting results’ usual distribution.

Venezuela’s opposition argued that precinct-level tallies show Gonzalez beating Maduro by a two-to-one margin, and they have published what appear to be official tally sheets online.

In the wake of the election, protesters flooded the streets of cities like Caracas with questions as to whether his victory was legitimate.

Following the election, the government has been accused of starting a violent crackdown against political opponents and protesters.

Some 2, 000 people were initially arrested, and 23 killed, though Maduro’s government recently said it released 1, 515 of the detainees. His administration has long been accused of arbitrary detention and political repression.

In September, prosecutors in Venezuela’s government accused Gonzalez of conspiracy, usurpation of powers and falsifying documents, and a court issued a warrant for his arrest.

The opposition leader fled the nation and emigrated to Spain in exile. But he has pledged to return to Venezuela.

The Venezuelan government, meanwhile, has repeatedly said that Gonzalez will be arrested if he comes back.

According to Maduro and his allies, Gonzalez and other opposition figures collaborated with hostile international powers to destabilize the nation.

In early January, Gonzalez left Spain to rally support in a tour across the Americas and put pressure on Maduro’s government.

He has already visited Argentina and Uruguay, and on Monday, he met US President Joe Biden, whose government recognised Gonzalez as the legitimate president-elect in November.