The man widely called the true winner of VenezuelaтАЩs tainted presidential election said on Tuesday that his son-in-law had been kidnapped by hooded men in Caracas, the capital.
Edmundo Gonz├бlez said that his son-in-law, Rafael Tudares, was walking Mr. Gonz├бlezтАЩs grandchildren to school when he was тАЬinterceptedтАЭ by hooded men dressed in black, and taken away in a gold van.
тАЬAt this time he is missing,тАЭ he wrote on X.
The reported kidnapping comes one day after Mr. Gonz├бlez met at the White House with President Biden, whose administration recognizes Mr. Gonz├бlez as president-elect, in an effort to put international pressure on President Nicol├бs Maduro, the longtime authoritarian leader who claims he won VenezuelaтАЩs July election.
On Monday the Maduro government, in a statement, called the meeting тАЬa flagrant violation of international law and a crude attempt to perpetuate imperialist interference in Latin America.тАЭ
Mr. Gonz├бlez, 75, was forced to flee the country shortly after millions of Venezuelans voted for him, and he is now living in exile in Spain. He has promised repeatedly to return to his country to be sworn in on Friday, when Maduro, in power since 2013, is scheduled to be inaugurated for another six-year term.
The Maduro government has imposed a $100,000 bounty on Mr. Gonz├бlez and he likely faces arrest if he returns.
The Venezuelan government has unleashed a wave of repression against anyone who challenges its declared victory, arresting about 2,000 people and charging most with terrorism. Human rights groups have described it as VenezuelaтАЩs most brutal campaign of repression in recent decades.
The government has released hundreds of those prisoners in recent months, in what many analysts saw as a signal to President-elect Donald J. Trump that it is willing to ease up on human rights in exchange for favorable treatment.
