The United States has condemned the administration in Caracas over the death of a jailed opposition figure, labeling it a "stark reminder of the despicable character" of President Nicolás Maduro's regime.
The former governor died in his cell at the El Helicoide detention center in Caracas, where he had been detained for in excess of twelve months, according to rights groups and opposition groups.
The officials in Venezuela stated that the 56-year-old displayed indicators of a heart attack and was taken to a hospital, where he died on the weekend.
This recent intervention from the US is part of an intensifying exchange of rhetoric between the Trump administration and President Maduro, who has alleged Washington of seeking his overthrow.
In recent months, the United States has increased its armed forces deployment in the Latin America and has executed a succession of deadly operations on boats it claims have been used for smuggling drugs.
US President Donald Trump has claimed Maduro directly of being the chief of one of the area's cartels—an claim the Venezuelan president categorically refutes—and has warned of armed intervention "on the ground".
"Alfredo Díaz had been 'unjustly imprisoned' in a 'torture centre'," said the American diplomatic office for the region.
The opposition figure was arrested in that year after joining many political opponents to dispute the outcome of that period's presidential election.
Venezuela's government-controlled national electoral body announced Maduro the victor, despite figures from dissidents indicating their nominee had triumphed by a wide margin.
The elections were widely dismissed on the global scene as flawed and unfair, and triggered unrest around the nation.
Díaz, who led the island state, was charged of "promoting hatred" and "terrorism" for questioning Maduro's declaration of success.
Venezuelan human rights group Foro Penal has raised concerns over declining conditions for jailed opponents in the South American state.
"One more detained dissident has died in Venezuelan detention centers. He had been imprisoned for a twelve months, in segregation," posted Alfredo Romero, the organisation's director, on a social media platform.
He noted that the detainee had only been allowed one meeting from his child during the whole time of his detention. He also mentioned that 17 political prisoners have passed away in the nation since that year.
Opposition groups have also criticized the regime over the demise of Díaz.
María Corina Machado, a well-known political rival who received this year's Nobel Peace Prize but who stays in hiding to evade capture, stated that his demise was not an isolated incident.
"Tragically, it contributes to an alarming and difficult chain of fatalities of political prisoners detained in the context of the after the vote repression," she wrote.
The Democratic Unitary Platform declared that the former governor "died unjustly".
Díaz's own political party, Democratic Action (AD), also honored the former governor, saying he had been held without justice without fair treatment and had stayed in circumstances "that infringed upon his human rights".
Strains between the United States and Venezuela have become progressively worse over what Trump has called efforts to stop the flow of narcotics and migrants into the United States.
Maduro has in turn accused the US of using its war on drugs as an pretext to overthrow his socialist government and gain control of Venezuela's enormous crude oil deposits.
The America has also positioned a sizable armada—its most substantial movement in the area in many years—along with thousands of soldiers.
In a related move, the Venezuelan military according to reports enlisted over five thousand six hundred soldiers in a single event on Saturday, in answer to what army commanders described as US "intimidation".
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