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Venezuelan opposition activist found dead after arrest: Political Party | Nicolas Maduro News

The Voluntad Popular party blames the Maduro government for the death of its co-founder Edwin Santos.

A Venezuelan opposition leader has been found dead after being taken into state custody, according to his political party.

Voluntad Popular (People's Will), a center-left party that opposes President Nicolas Maduro's government, said local leader and co-founder Edwin Santos was found dead on a bridge connecting the neighboring Venezuelan states of Apure and Tachira .

Santos was arrested by state security services two days earlier on his way to the municipality of El Pinal in Tachira state, Voluntad Popular said, citing witnesses in the area.

The party blamed “Maduro's regime” for the “assassination” of Santos and said it was clearly an act of “political retaliation.”

“What happened to Edwin Santos confirms the continuation of the repression, persecution and murder policies of a criminal regime,” Voluntad Popular said in a statement published on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“No doubt, this was a political crime”

Images purporting to be Santos' body were also released.

Exiled opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez wrote on social media: “Yesterday we denounced the kidnapping of Edwin Santos by the Maduro dictatorship.”

He added: “Today he seemed dead. He was MURDERED, we have no doubt it was a political crime.”

The party described Santos as an important activist who advocated for his community. It was said that he had a wife and two children.

Former Venezuelan ambassador to the US Carlos Vecchio told Al Jazeera he knew Santos well and described him as a “great person” and “leader”.

Vecchio said there was evidence that Santos was “tortured” and “dumped” on the side of the road where he was found.

The report follows a growing crackdown on opposition voices in Venezuela, where Maduro was declared the winner of a disputed election in late June.

Venezuela's National Guard, police and armed groups known as “colectivos” killed 23 people in protests following the July 28 election, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report on the post-election crackdown.

Maduro's opposition challenger Edmundo Gonzalez fled to Spain after an arrest warrant was issued against him.

Yesterday the European Union awarded its highest human rights prize to Gonzelez and his opposition colleague Maria Corina Machado.

In a statement Thursday, Gonzalez assured that Venezuela's “fight is not over.”

“The regime continues to block political change and commit ever-increasing human rights violations and crimes against humanity,” Gonzalez said. “Democrats inside and outside Venezuela must work together to ensure that the sovereign mandate of the Venezuelan people is respected.”

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