REPORT: Venezuelan Opposition Leader Son-in-Law Kidnapped

This week, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is set to start his third term. 

The last election is believed to have been rigged, with most of our allies and our government believing that opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez is the rightful president-elect.  

Gonzales has been living in exile in Spain under the threat of arrest, but he is now claiming that his son-in-law has been kidnapped in Caracas. 

They Got Him 

Gonzales was actually traveling to the United States when he got word of the alleged kidnapping.  

He posted to his X account that “hooded men, dressed in black” had intercepted the car his son-in-law was traveling in, and put him “into a gold-colored van.” 

His grandchildren were also apparently in the vehicle, but there is no word in regard to what happened to the children at this point.  

González represented Venezuela’s Unitary Platform opposition coalition.  

The coalition issued a statement after the kidnapped was reported, stating, “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).” 

Gonzalez has been doing a tour, trying to get support to have Maduro ousted from office before he is sworn in again on Friday.  

He recently met with Joe Biden as well as having a remote meeting with Trump’s incoming National Security Adviser, Mike Waltz.  

I would suspect that Trump’s answer will be to slam Venezuela with significant sanctions hoping to cave Maduro, but I doubt it will work.  

The situation in Venezuela is unbelievably bad right now, with the United States having posted a travel warning, and the schools in the country remaining closed amid tensions. 

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

Watch the news on Friday because the streets of that country will be set on fire, and the expectation is that Maduro will use a heavy hand to rein them in.