The family of lawyer Rafael Todares, the son-in-law of opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia, who claimed victory in last year’s presidential election and denounced electoral fraud, said Tuesday that he was sentenced to 30 years in prison on charges of “terrorism,” “criminal association” and “conspiracy.”
Along with Todares, Luis Guillermo Isturez, leader of the Vente Venezuela party in the state of Miranda, was also sentenced to 20 years in prison, on similar charges.
Todares, 45, of no known political activity, is married to Mariana Gonzalez, daughter of Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia. The couple has two children, ages six and seven. The political police arrested him on January 7 of this year, while he was taking them to school. His whereabouts were unknown for 40 days.
Mariana Gonzalez, Todares’ wife, wrote on her social media account: “At night, I learned of the sentence that was to be imposed on my husband, Rafael Todares Bracho, to 30 years in prison.” She also said that the family had not seen him for 11 months.
Press release and official statement regarding the unofficial information circulating on social networks and digital media about the unconstitutional judicial process followed against my husband, Rafael Todares Bracho: pic.twitter.com/bjim2Rrc3e
– Mariana Gonzalez de Todares (@MarianaGTudares) December 3, 2025
Todares was sentenced very quickly by the Third Instance Court with special jurisdiction in anti-terrorism matters, led by Judge Alejandra Romero. José Vicente Haro, Todares’ defense lawyer, stated that he did not have access to the court file and was not aware of the details of the ruling.
The arrest of Todares, at the beginning of this year, came amid strong political tensions between the government of Nicolas Maduro and the leadership of the Venezuelan opposition, represented by Gonzalez Urrutia and Maria Corina Machado, due to the dissatisfaction existing in large segments of Venezuelan society regarding the validity of the results of the July 2024 elections.
In January 2025, when Nicolás Maduro was about to take office for a third presidential term, complaints of fraud by the opposition to the Maduro government, and the Chavista regime in general, were at their highest levels.
Both Machado and Gonzalez Urrutia – who went into exile in August 2024 – challenged Maduro’s legitimacy and called on residents to protest in the streets, while an important part of the international democratic community questioned the cleanliness of the result announced by the National Electoral Council.
In the face of these demands and pressures, the government of Nicolas Maduro responded with a harsh repressive barrage, denouncing the development of a conspiracy to ignore the election result and the constitution and promote chaos in the streets.
The Chavista regime’s response to the opposition’s demands was particularly harsh, especially after the opposition campaign leadership (called Command with Venezuela), led by Maria Corina Machado, managed to erase almost all the voting records that the electoral authorities had refused to show in the midst of that controversy.
The minutes documented, according to the opponent’s account, a comfortable victory for Gonzalez Urrutia over Maduro. More than a thousand people were transferred directly to prison for participating in those protests.
Mariana Gonzalez announced: “My lawyer and I will go to the relevant authorities to request the relevant official information, despite the great obstacles and barriers imposed on us to obtain information about the case and defend Rafael’s rights.”