Shaheen, Kaine and Colleagues Issue Bipartisan Statement on Kidnapping of Edmundo González’s Son in Law in Venezuela

WASHINGTON - This week, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, 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) issued a statement regarding the kidnapping of Rafael Tudares, the son-in-law of Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo González, in Caracas.

"In July, the Venezuelan people overwhelmingly elected Edmundo González as the country's next President. 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. To do so, it has imprisoned opposition leaders and issued a bounty for the arrest of Edmundo González, forcing him to flee the country. As the Inauguration Day of January 10 approaches, and González has announced plans to return to Venezuela to claim the Presidency, Rafael Tudares, the son-in-law of González, was kidnapped as he was taking his children to school. This appears to be a part of a clear pattern of steps to intimidate González from returning to Venezuela to accept the mandate of Venezuelan voters. We condemn this violence, support the right of Venezuelans to choose their own leaders, continue to press Venezuelan election officials to release the polling tallies from the July election and pledge to do all things possible to support human rights in Venezuela and impose consequences on those who violate the rights of their citizens."

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