Venezuelan opposition leader says son-in-law kidnapped in Caracas

Venezuela’s Edmundo González Urrutia, who the opposition says won a July presidential election against incumbent Nicolás Maduro, has said that his son-in-law was seized by “hooded men” in Caracas.

“This morning my son-in-law Rafael Tudares was kidnapped,” said González on Tuesday.

Writing on the social network X, González said his son-in-law Rafael Tudares was “intercepted by hooded men, dressed in black” while taking his children to school and driven away in a gold-colored van.

The incident came a day after the US president, Joe Biden, hosted the exiled González for talks at the White House, infuriating Maduro’s government, which has put a bounty on the 75-year-old’s head.

It also comes amid tensions in the capital Caracas, three days before Maduro is due to be sworn in for a third term – defying calls from the United States and other world powers for him to step aside in favor of González.

The 62-year-old has ruled the oil-rich country for over a decade, retaining an iron grip on power with the help of police, paramilitaries and the armed forces.

Backed by state institutions loyal to him, Maduro claimed victory in the July polls, with the National Electoral Council (CNE) failing to publicly release results data.

The opposition claimed its polling station-level data showed that González had won the election by a landslide.

More than 20 people were killed and nearly 200 were wounded in the rioting that followed Maduro’s claim of election victory in July.

Another 2,400 people were arrested in the crackdown, with authorities saying this week that about 1,500 had since been freed. Rights groups have cast doubt on that figure.

González, 75, fled in exile to Spain in September and has pledged to return to his country to be sworn in.

He has toured capitals in the Americas in recent days to try to isolate Maduro, whose re-election has been recognized by only a handful of countries, including longtime ally Russia.

The opposition has called for major demonstrations on Thursday, the eve of Maduro’s inauguration.

Opposition leader María Corina Machado, who backed González for president after being barred from running herself, urged supporters to turn out in “millions”, and said she would be there herself.

But it is unclear whether Venezuelans, wearied by decades of economic crisis and fearful of government vengeance, can be persuaded to demonstrate in large numbers once again.

Years of protests and US sanctions imposed over previous elections tainted by fraud allegations have failed to dislodge Maduro.

A parallel government set up by the opposition in 2019 with the support of over 50 countries also failed to hasten an end to his rule.

The Maduro government has vowed to deal harshly with future protests and threatened to jail González if he makes good on a promise to return to Venezuela. Last week authorities offered a reward of $100,000 for information leading to his capture.