Juan Guaidó says Maduro regime has 'kidnapped' National Assembly's vice president

From left: Edgar Zambrano, Juan Guaidó, and Omar Barboza.

(Image credit: AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

published 9 May 2019

The Venezuelan government's secret police have "kidnapped" National Assembly Vice President Edgar Zambrano, opposition leader Juan Guaidó said Wednesday.

Ever since an uprising against him failed last week, Venezuelan President Nicólas Maduro has been targeting opposition politicians, with at least 10 accused of treason, civil rebellion, and conspiracy, The Guardian reports. Intelligence agents found Zambrano inside his car, and after he refused to get out, they transported the vehicle to El Helicoide, a political prison known for torturing prisoners.

Maduro's government says Zambrano was one of the attempted coup's main leaders, but Guaidó said he believes he was detained in the hopes that this would shatter the opposition-led National Assembly. The United States and most other countries consider Guaidó Venezuela's legitimate president, calling Maduro's January re-election a sham. The U.S. State Department said Zambrano's detention is "illegal and inexcusable," and warned that "if he is not freed immediately, there will be consequences."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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