A man detained in Venezuela during the civil unrest that followed the country’s disputed July presidential election has died while in custody.

Venezuela’s top prosecutor has announced a criminal investigation against the opposition’s presidential candidate Edmundo González and its leader Maria Corina Machado over their call on the armed forces to abandon their support for President Nicolás Maduro and to stop repressing demonstrators.

As Venezuela’s government would have it, President Nicolas Maduro and members of his inner circle have been the target of several conspiracies since last year that could have left them injured or worse.

Representatives of several human rights organizations have held a press conference demanding the immediate release of a prominent attorney and activist detained last week.

The U.S. government has pulled back part of the sanctions relief it granted Venezuela last year, following through on its threat after the South American country’s highest court blocked the presidential candidacy of an opposition leader.

Venezuela’s chief prosecutor has announced a criminal investigation into organizers of a presidential primary election held over the weekend.

Venezuela’s attorney general says 21 people, including senior officials in President Nicolás Maduro's government and business leaders, have been arrested in connection with a corruption scheme involving international oil sales.

Authorities said cellphones taken from the men when they were arrested last week include images of a large bridge in Zulia state, military installations and dilapidated oil refineries in Falcon state. President Nicolás Maduro announced on Friday that an unnamed suspected U.S. spy had been captured, saying he was a Marine and former CIA operative in Iraq. Venezuela also struggles to provide electricity to residents, especially in Zulia state, once a major hub of the nation's vast oil production. The three Venezuelans accused of conspiring with Heath include a military officer, Saab said, adding that they helped him enter from Colombia. The ex-Green Berets in Goudreau's force — Luke Denman Airan Berry Venezuela — have been sentenced to 20 years in prison.

MIAMI An American oil executive jailed in Venezuela has been out of contact with relatives and attorneys for nearly a week and his family fears he could be suffering from the coronavirus. Since then, his lawyers and family have been unable to obtain information about his whereabouts, said John Pereira. His fellow cellmates who worked under Pereira at Citgo told loved ones that guards on Wednesday removed Pereira's clothes and medicine from the Caracas prison where the men are being held. The other men who remain jailed in Caracas' famed Helicoide prison are Tomeu Vadell and brothers Alirio and Jose Luis Zambrano. The Maduro government in June released photos and video of the men in orange prison garb exercising and appearing in otherwise good health.