The US government has criticized the administration in Caracas over the passing of a imprisoned opposition figure, describing it as a "reminder of the despicable character" of President Nicolás Maduro's government.
The political prisoner died in his cell at the El Helicoide prison in Caracas, where he had been held for over a year, as stated by advocacy organizations and dissident factions.
The Caracas administration reported that the man in his fifties showed symptoms of a myocardial infarction and was transferred to a hospital, where he passed away on the weekend.
This recent intervention from the United States is part of an escalating war of words between the American government and President Maduro, who has alleged the US of seeking regime change.
In recent months, the US has increased its military presence in the region and has carried out a succession of fatal operations on boats it says have been used for moving narcotics.
US President Donald Trump has accused Maduro personally of being the leader of one of the area's drug cartels—an allegation the Venezuelan president strongly rejects—and has hinted at military action "via a land invasion".
"The detainee had been 'held without cause' in a 'center of abuse'," said the American diplomatic office for the region.
The opposition figure was arrested in that year after being among many dissidents to challenge the results of that period's national vote.
Venezuela's pro-government electoral authority announced Maduro the victor, even though figures from dissidents suggesting their contender had won by a wide margin.
The vote were largely criticized on the world stage as flawed and unfair, and ignited unrest around the nation.
DĂaz, who governed the Nueva Esparta state, was indicted of "stoking division" and "terrorist acts" for questioning Maduro's declaration of success.
Venezuelan rights organization Foro Penal has expressed alarm over declining conditions for jailed opponents in the Latin American nation.
"One more political prisoner has died in Venezuelan prisons. He had been imprisoned for a year, in solitary confinement," posted Alfredo Romero, the organisation's head, on a social media platform.
He said that DĂaz had only been permitted one visit from his family during the entire length of his imprisonment. He further stated that 17 political prisoners have lost their lives in the country since 2014.
Political rivals have also condemned the administration over the death of the former governor.
MarĂa Corina Machado, a prominent political rival who received this year's Nobel Peace Prize but who is in concealment to escape capture, stated that DĂaz's death was not an isolated incident.
"Sadly, it joins an alarming and painful chain of deaths of political prisoners imprisoned in the wake of the electoral suppression," she said.
The opposition alliance stated that DĂaz "was an unjust death".
His own party, Democratic Action (AD), also remembered the ex-leader, stating he had been unjustly detained without proper legal procedure and had been kept in circumstances "that infringed upon his fundamental rights".
Strains between the United States and Venezuela have become progressively worse over what Trump has called attempts to stem the flow of narcotics and immigrants into the US.
Maduro has in turn accused the US of using its drug enforcement efforts as an pretext to overthrow his regime and get its hands on Venezuela's huge petroleum resources.
The America has also deployed a large fleet—its biggest presence in the region in many years—along with numerous soldiers.
In a parallel move, the Venezuelan military according to reports inducted more than 5,600 soldiers in a mass ceremony on the weekend, in answer to what military leaders described as US "aggression".
