“I haven’t been able to see him. Or give him food. Or hand him his clothes. I don’t know if he has been beaten. I don’t know if he has bathed. Or eaten.”

‘Isabella’, who did not want to be named, is desperately worried for her son.

Through tears, she explains that he, 28, and his girlfriend, 17, were arrested and beaten after the family joined a march in Caracas protesting against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro the day after Sunday’s presidential election.

Mr Maduro claimed victory, which was instantly disputed by the opposition who say they have evidence from electronic voting machines that they, not the government, won.

They and many governments around the world have demanded proof from President Maduro that he won the election.

He has said he will publish the vote tallies, but not when.

Opposition leader María Corina Machado has called for protests “in every city” in Venezuela on Saturday against President Maduro and the disputed election result.

She said on social media “we must remain firm, organised and mobilised with the pride of having achieved a historic victory on 28 July".