A military police car (DGCIM) leaves the building where the family of Juan José Márquez lives in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, February 20, 2020. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
By SCOTT SMITH, Associated Press
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó said military police raided the home of his uncle early Thursday, a week after the relative was arrested on his return with Guaidó to Venezuela.
On Twitter, Guaidó described the search of Juan José Márquez’s home as another act of persecution by a “cowardly dictatorship” that will not deter the opposition movement.
La dictadura cobarde está allanando la vivienda de mi tío Juan Márquez. Con los órganos represivos y de persecución, buscan seguir con esta farsa que nadie les cree.
Si piensan que vamos a retroceder en las acciones que hemos tomado y vamos a tomar, se equivocan.
Avanzaremos. https://t.co/oZF2VWABrm
— Juan Guaidó (@jguaido) February 20, 2020
An Associated Press journalist saw a police vehicle parked in front of the Caracas apartment building where Márquez lives. An officer in a black mask later drove off in the vehicle.
Márquez’s small children were inside the home at the time of the police raid, said his attorney, Joel García.
Márquez traveled to Venezuela with Guaidó, who had completed an international tour in which he sought support for the opposition’s campaign to oust President Nicolás Maduro.
Márquez was promptly arrested and accused of transporting explosives, an allegation that Guaidó has dismissed as absurd.
