Two Venezuelan opposition leaders have been taken from their homes, according to family members posting on social media.
Both Leopoldo Lopez and Antonio Ledezma were being held under house arrest but were reportedly taken away overnight.
Lopez’s wife, Lilian Tintori, posted a video on Twitter with the caption: “12:27 in the morning: the moment when the dictatorship kidnaps Leopoldo at my house.”
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The video shows what appears to be Lopez being led into a vehicle branded with the word “Sebin”, Venezuela’s intelligence agency, reported The Independent.
12:27 de la madrugada: Momento en el que la dictadura secuestra a Leopoldo en mi casa. No lo van a doblegar! pic.twitter.com/0EdlQvEGXS
— Lilian Tintori (@liliantintori) August 1, 2017
Ledezma’s daughter, Vanessa, also posted a similar video, with the caption: “Sebin has taken away my dad!”
Both women said they will hold President Nicolas Maduro responsible for what happens to them, while Lopez’s lawyer Juan Gutierrez tweeted that “there is no legal justification to revoke the house arrest measure.”
Lopez was granted house arrest in July following three years in prison for his role in anti-government street protests in 2014. Ledezma was granted house arrest in 2015 after being imprisoned on charges of leading a coup against Maduro.
Venezuela is in political turmoil after the creation of an all-powerful legislative body called the constituent assembly, which the opposition and members of the international community say is an assault on democratic values.
#SOSVenezuela@Pierferdinando@PaoloGentiloni@EP_President@FedericaMog@Antonio_Tajani
— Vanessa Ledezma (@vaneleca) August 1, 2017
Il SEBIN ha portato via a mio padre AIUTO! pic.twitter.com/uTPAPsx3MH
The US has placed sanctions on Maduro as a result of his effort to consolidate power.
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Both Lopez and Ledezma called for Venezuelans to protest the country’s president in recent days, following an election process that sparked reportedly deadly street fighting.
As many as 14 people died in the protests, according to the opposition leader Henrique Capriles. But the leader of the ruling socialist party, Jorge Rodriguez, said there was “not one death related to the voting process.”
The US State Department said: “We will continue to take strong and swift actions against the architects of authoritarianism in Venezuela, including those who participate in the national constituent assembly as a result of today’s flawed election.”