Edmundo González has become a beacon of hope for millions of Venezuelans. They want to call him president. He believes he won that office at the ballot box last year.

Syria had experienced 13 years of civil war and splintered into religious and ethnic factions before the regime fell. While Venezuela’s situation differs in many respects from that of Syria, the repressive regime in Caracas shares allies with Assad’s ousted government and, like his, is loathed by most citizens.

Venezuela’s exiled opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia has urged the Venezuelan military to recognize him as their commander-in-chief and “put an end to the leadership” of President Nicolás Maduro,

Edmundo González, who is recognized by the United States as the president-elect of Venezuela, said his son-in-law was kidnapped by hooded men.

Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo González, who asserts victory in last year's presidential election against President Nicolás Maduro, reported on January 7 that his son-in-law was kidnapped in the capital.