Venezuelan opposition leader says his son-in-law has been kidnapped in Caracas

CARACAS, Venezuela — 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.

González, who was traveling in the United States, said Rafael Tudares was kidnapped while on his way to drop off González’s two grandchildren at school in Caracas.

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.

The kidnapping happened despite a significant increase in police and military presence since New Year’s Day across Caracas ahead of Friday's swearing-in ceremony for Maduro, who the government says won a third term in the July election.

The government’s centralized press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

González, a retired diplomat, represented Venezuela’s Unitary Platform opposition coalition in the presidential election, which he and Maduro both claim to have won. The platform in a statement characterized Tudares' kidnapping as a “forced disappearance for political reasons.”

“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.

González left Venezuela for exile in Spain in September after a judge issued a warrant for his arrest in connection with an election-related investigation. In recent weeks, he has vowed to return to his homeland to take the oath of office.

González, 75, is touring the Americas to try to rally support for his effort to get Maduro out of office by Friday. That's when, by law, the South American country’s next presidential term begins. On Monday, González met with U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House as well as with U.S. Rep. Mike Waltz, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s designate to be his national security adviser once he is sworn in on Jan. 20.

González, who has been recognized by several governments including the U.S. as Venezuela's president-elect, has not explained how he plans to return to the troubled country or wrest power from Maduro, whose ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela controls all aspects of government.

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.

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.

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

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.

“There is tension. As soon as night falls, the city is like a ghost town," Caracas resident Mari Jimenez said. “We do not feel confident seeing so many police.”

Hours after announcing his son-in-law’s kidnapping, González said he was continuing his multi-country tour with a stop in Panama.

Kidnappings were commonplace in Venezuela at the end of last and beginning of this century, when criminals targeted the wealthy and a thriving middle class. But that type of crime decreased in recent years, as the country’s economy came undone and Venezuelans began to emigrate.

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.

Electoral authorities in July declared Maduro the winner hours after polls closed, but unlike in previous presidential elections, they did not provide detailed vote counts. However, the opposition collected tally sheets from more than 80% of the nation’s electronic voting machines, posted them online and said they showed González had won the election with twice as many votes as Maduro.

The U.S.-based Carter Center, which Maduro’s government invited to observe the presidential election, has said the tally sheets published by the opposition are legitimate.

The Secretary General of the Organization of American States, Luis Almagro, who met with González on Monday in Washington, joined the calls for Tudares' immediate release. In a post on X, he said Tudares’ situation is “a new and unacceptable act of political pressure" against González, whom "the international community certified as the winner of the July elections, something that the regime continues to fail to refute with evidence.”

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

“Maduro and company, you have no limits in your evil," she posted on X. "Cowards.”

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