Venezuelan Opposition Leader Says Son-in-Law Was Kidnapped by Masked Men

Venezuela's Edmundo González Urrutia waves as he was awarded the EU's top human rights honor, the Sakharov Prize, at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France, on Dec. 17, 2024. Pascal Bastien/AP Photo

Venezuelan exiled opposition candidate Edmundo González, who claims to have defeated President Nicolás Maduro in 2024’s disputed election, alleged on Jan. 7 that his son-in-law was kidnapped by masked men in Caracas, Venezuela.

In a Jan. 7 post on social media platform X, González said Rafael Tudares was kidnapped that day while on his way to drop off González’s two grandchildren at school.

González said his son-in-law was taken by “hooded men, dressed in black” who intercepted the vehicle he was in, transferred him to a “gold-colored SUV with license plate AA54E2C,” and drove away.

He did not provide further information regarding what happened to his grandchildren, aged 6 and 7, or who he believes is behind the alleged kidnapping.

There is an increased police and military presence across Caracas ahead of the Jan. 10 swearing-in ceremony for Maduro, who leads the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela and claims to have won the presidential election in July 2024.

Venezuela’s National Electoral Council and the Supreme Tribunal of Justice, the country’s top court, also declared him the winner with a narrow 51 percent of the vote. Both the council and the court are closely aligned with Maduro.

González and his opposition party, the Unitary Platform coalition, have disputed the results and accused Maduro of rigging the election.

González’s election victory has also been recognized by the White House, which has accused Maduro of refusing to recognize “the will of the Venezuelan people” and condemned what it stated was his “brutal repression of those defending the true results of the election.”

In a statement, the coalition characterized Tudares’s alleged kidnapping as a “forced disappearance for political reasons” and demanded that he be released immediately.

The coalition also called for the release of “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 government’s centralized press office did not respond by publication time to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.

González, Biden Meet at White House

González fled to Spain in September 2024 after authorities issued an arrest warrant over his refusal to respond to summonses to testify about an opposition-led website that published the election’s tally sheets. The website claimed that González had easily won the election.

Venezuela’s government is currently offering a $100,000 reward for information that leads to González’s arrest.

Despite the pending arrest warrant, González has vowed to return to Venezuela to be sworn in for the presidency and is currently attempting to drum up support across the Americas to get Maduro out of office by Jan. 10.

On Jan. 6, he met with U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House, where the two discussed “shared efforts to restore democracy” in Venezuela, according to a White House readout of the meeting.

President Joe Biden (R) and Venezuela's opposition leader, Edmundo González, at the White House, on Jan. 6, 2025. POTUS via X via Reuters

During their meeting, Biden “emphasized that the world was inspired by the millions of Venezuelans who courageously voted for democratic change in Venezuela’s deeply flawed” July presidential election, adding that voting tally sheets indicated that González “received the most votes by an insurmountable margin,” according to the White House readout.

Both leaders agreed that there must be a “transparent and accountable” electoral process and that González’s “campaign victory should be honored through a peaceful transfer back to democratic rule.”

The White House noted that Biden will be following opposition protests set to take place across Venezuela on Jan. 9.

He emphasized that Venezuelans “should be allowed to express their political opinions peacefully without fear of reprisal from the military and police,” according to the readout.

In a Jan. 6 statement posted on X, the Maduro government stated that it “strongly and categorically condemns the statement issued by the White House, which represents a flagrant violation of international law and a crude attempt to perpetuate imperialist interference in Latin America.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.