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."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
September 14 editorial cartoonsCartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include RFK Jr on the hook, the destruction of discourse, and more
-
Air strikes in the Caribbean: Trump’s murky narco-warTalking Point Drug cartels ‘don’t follow Marquess of Queensberry Rules’, but US military air strikes on speedboats rely on strained interpretation of ‘invasion’
-
Crossword: September 14, 2025The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to TrumpSpeed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raidsSpeed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raidSpeed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearingSpeed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mountSpeed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own listspeed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battleSpeed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants
