Edmundo González Urrutia, who fled in exile to Spain in September, says son-in-law was seized by ‘hooded men’

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,” González posted on X on Tuesday.

“Rafael was on his way to my grandchildren’s school to drop them off for the start of classes, he was intercepted by hooded men, dressed in black, they put him in a gold-colored van, license plate AA54E2C and took him away.”

Venezuela’s government on Monday criticized a meeting between Joe Biden and González, who has been on an international tour seeking to pressure Maduro to relinquish power.

The 62-year-old has ruled the oil-rich nation 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.

Maduro is due to be sworn in for a third six-year term on Friday.

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.

Source: www.theguardian.com