Boris Johnson accused Venezuela's president of behaving like the "dictator of an evil regime" after two of the country's leading opposition leaders were seized from their homes at night by state security agents.
The Foreign Secretary stepped up his attacks on Nicolas Maduro as he appeared to crack down on his enemies after a widely disputed vote to give his ruling socialist party nearly unlimited powers.
As fears over civil unrest and instability in the country grew on Tuesday, the Foreign Office said it had withdrawn the families of its embassy staff and instructed Britons that they should consider leaving too. The South American country's National Electoral Council has said more than eight million people voted to grant Maduro's government the powers with a constitutional assembly, but the turnout is disputed by political opponents. Relatives and allies of two of the country's leading opposition figures — Leopoldo Lopez and former Caracas mayor Antonio Ledezma — reported on social media that they had been detained by the state. Both had recently posted videos online criticising Maduro's decision to hold the vote.