--- description: Three men were arrested by Venezuelan authorities on Monday in connection to the murder of opposition parliamentary candidate Luis Diaz. title: Three Arrested In Killing of Venezuelan Opposition Candidate image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbc4d41336092cad1/69887336196cf460160393bf/497168176.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Venezuela](/tag/venezuela/) ## Venezuela Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Three Men Have Been Arrested Over the Killing of a Venezuelan Opposition Candidate by [Joanna Plucinska](/author/joanna-plucinska/) ## Joanna Plucinska Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 1, 2015 4:31 AM CUT  Attendees gather and wave flags during the kick off campaign for opposition candidates in the El Paraiso sector of Caracas, Venezuela, on Nov. 14, 2015 Attendees gather and wave flags during the kick off campaign for opposition candidates in the El Paraiso sector of Caracas, Venezuela, on Nov. 14, 2015Wilfredo Riera—Bloomberg/Getty Images by [Joanna Plucinska](/author/joanna-plucinska/) ## Joanna Plucinska Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 1, 2015 4:31 AM CUT Three men were [arrested](http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/30/us-venezuela-election-idUSKBN0TJ2KV20151130#Bw8RPiaPg6HDgM3E.97 "undefined") by Venezuelan authorities on Monday in connection with the murder of an opposition parliamentary candidate. [Luis Diaz](http://caracaschronicles.com/2015/11/26/a-political-assassination-in-altagracia-de-orituco/ "undefined"), the secretary general of the Democratic Action party in the state of Guarico, was shot and killed [last Wednesday](http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/26/venezuela-election-murder--of-opposition-politician-luis-diaz "undefined") at a public meeting ahead of the country’s [parliamentary elections](http://www.cnbc.com/2015/11/30/venezuela-on-edge-ahead-of-parliamentary-elections.html "undefined") on Dec. 6\. The shooting represents increasing tensions in the Latin American nation over a plummeting economy and repeated rumors of corruption, [CNBC](http://www.cnbc.com/2015/11/30/venezuela-on-edge-ahead-of-parliamentary-elections.html "undefined") says. The prosecutor’s office said the suspects, between the ages of 22 and 28, were being held in Altagracia de Orituco, the town where Diaz was shot. Opposition leaders have alleged that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government is behind the murder. But the ruling party denies the claims, saying instead that Diaz was a criminal involved in gang disputes that turned deadly, according to [Reuters](http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/30/us-venezuela-election-idUSKBN0TJ2KV20151130#Bw8RPiaPg6HDgM3E.97 "undefined"). The attack was quickly condemned by the U.S. “This was the deadliest of several recent attacks and acts of intimidation aimed at opposition candidates,” State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement, [Reuters](http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/26/venezuela-election-murder--of-opposition-politician-luis-diaz "undefined") reports. “Campaigns of fear, violence, and intimidation have no place in democracy.” The ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela is lagging in the polls behind the Democratic Action party, but still holds the advantages of deep campaign coffers and the loyalty of poorer voters still fiercely dedicated to the memory of former leader Hugo Chavez, Reuters says. \[[_Reuters_](http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/30/us-venezuela-election-idUSKBN0TJ2KV20151130#Bw8RPiaPg6HDgM3E.97 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4130344/venezuela-election-luis-diaz-murder/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4130344/venezuela-election-luis-diaz-murder/"},"headline":"Three Men Have Been Arrested Over the Killing of a Venezuelan Opposition Candidate","datePublished":"2015-12-01T04:31:23.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T12:59:00.994Z","description":"Luis Diaz was assassinated at a public meeting last Wednesday","url":"https://time.com/4130344/venezuela-election-luis-diaz-murder/","keywords":["Venezuela","Nicolás Maduro","Caracas","hugo chavez"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbc4d41336092cad1/69887336196cf460160393bf/497168176.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Joanna Plucinska","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/joanna-plucinska/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbc4d41336092cad1/69887336196cf460160393bf/497168176.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Opposition Candidates Kick Off Campaign For General National Assembly Election","caption":"Opposition Candidates Kick Off Campaign For General National Assembly Election","creditText":"Wilfredo Riera—Bloomberg/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/venezuela/","name":"Venezuela"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4130344/venezuela-election-luis-diaz-murder/","name":"Three Men Have Been Arrested Over the Killing of a Venezuelan Opposition Candidate"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Colombians Flee Border Town in Venezuela","description":"Scores of Colombians have packed their belongings into suitcases and prepared for an army escort out of Venezuela, joining the estimated 1,000 of their compatriots who have already been deported.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/R4cGxqiZ/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-08-27T06:56:05.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/R4cGxqiZ.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4130344/venezuela-election-luis-diaz-murder/","duration":"PT53S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4130344/venezuela-election-luis-diaz-murder/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```