Earlier in the day, Venezuelan authorities arrested two opposition figures, including founder of Venezuelan opposition Popular Will party Leopoldo Lopez, amid anti-government protests in the country triggered by the election of the Constituent Assembly.
"Well, if you remember, a few weeks ago we had welcomed the transfer of Leopoldo Lopez from prison to house arrest. We have heard the news today and we believe it's clearly a step in the wrong direction. We expect more information from the Venezuelan authorities on the situation which is still unclear," Ray said at news conference.
Ray called on the government of Venezuela to work toward urgent confidence-building measures aimed at de-escalating tensions within the country and fostering better conditions for resuming efforts for a peaceful, negotiated solution.
On Sunday, Venezuela held the election of the Constituent Assembly, which will be charged with rewriting the constitution. The draft is anticipated to find the way out of the political crisis which started in January 2016, when a new opposition-controlled National Assembly was elected.
The Popular Will party, headed by Lopez, is a member of the Democratic Unity Roundtable, the electoral coalition that currently holds a supermajority in the National Assembly. The opposition believes that President Nicolas Maduro's plan for constitutional reform is aimed at sidelining the parliament and does not recognize the results of the vote.
