Venezuelan opposition parties and NGOs decried the arrests of a prominent press freedom activist and a well-known opposition figure, among others, ahead of planned protests against Friday's inauguration of President Nicolas Maduro for his third term.

Venezuela's 'colectivos,' groups of armed civilian volunteers accused of committing violence on behalf of Nicolás Maduro's pariah regime, are poised to pounce on opposition protests.

Two U.S. citizens have been arrested in Venezuela, part of a group of seven whom President Nicolas Maduro on Tuesday branded as "mercenaries" in the latest roundup ahead of the embattled leader's expected inauguration to a new term later this week.

CARACAS - Venezuela is on tenterhooks as it braces for pro- and anti-government protests on Thursday — the eve of President Nicolas Maduro’s swearing-in for a third term rejected by the opposition and much of the international community as illegitimate.

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.

González said his son-in-law, Rafael Tudares, was kidnapped while on his way to drop off his two grandchildren at a school in Caracas.

Tension mounted in Venezuela Monday ahead of strongman Nicolas Maduro's swearing-in ceremony, with Caracas vowing to arrest exiled opposition figure Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia if he returns to the country.