By REGINA GARCIA CANO, Associated Press
CARACAS. Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo González, who claims to have defeated President Nicolás Maduro in last year’s presidential election, said Tuesday that his son-in-law was kidnapped in Venezuela’s capital.
González said his son-in-law, Rafael Tudares, was kidnapped Tuesday morning while on his way to drop off his two grandchildren at a 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.”
González did not provide additional details, including the conditions of his 6- and 7-year-old grandchildren.
The government’s centralized press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.
The kidnapping comes as tensions heighten across Venezuela ahead of Friday, when the next presidential term is set to begin.
González, a retired diplomat, represented Venezuela’s main opposition coalition in the July presidential election, which he and Maduro both claim to have won.
He left Venezuela for exile in Spain in September after a judge issued a warrant for his arrest in connection with an election-related investigation, but in recent weeks, he has vowed to return to his homeland to take the oath of office.
González is the midst of a tour of the Americas to try to rally support for his effort to get Maduro out of office by Friday, 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 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, 75, has not explained how he plans to return to Venezuela or wrest power from Maduro, whose ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela controls all aspects of government.