Boise City Wire

This week, a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators issued a statement concerning the recent kidnapping in Venezuela. The incident involves Rafael Tudares, the son-in-law of Edmundo González, a key opposition leader in the country.

Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Tim Kaine (D-VA), John Cornyn (R-TX), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Jacky Rosen (D-NV) expressed their concerns about the situation.

The statement highlights that "In July, the Venezuelan people overwhelmingly elected Edmundo González as the country’s next President." However, it points out that "the defeated government of Nicolás Maduro has taken steps since that day to deny the election result and engineer a fraudulent continuation of its regime."

According to the senators' statement, measures have been taken against opposition leaders, including imprisonments and issuing bounties for arrests. These actions have forced González to flee Venezuela. With his planned return on January 10 to claim his presidency, Rafael Tudares was kidnapped while taking his children to school. This event is perceived by some as an attempt to intimidate González from returning.

The senators declared their condemnation of this violence and emphasized their support for Venezuelans' rights to choose their leaders freely. They also called for transparency in releasing polling tallies from the July election and committed to supporting human rights in Venezuela while imposing consequences on those violating citizens' rights.