The Trump administration on Wednesday blasted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro over the death of a political opponent who died while in government custody.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders condemned the government's alleged involvement in the death of Fernando Alban, a councilman who was among the most outspoken members of the country's opposition party.

"The Trump Administration will continue to increase pressure on the Maduro regime and its insiders until democracy is restored in Venezuela," Sanders said in a statement.

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"The United States calls for the immediate release of all Venezuelan political prisoners, and for the Maduro regime to take direct, credible steps to reestablish democracy in Venezuela and to prevent further suffering and bloodshed," she added.

Reuters reported that Alban, 56, was arrested last week after a government official alleged he was involved in the explosion of two drones at a military parade that Maduro's government has portrayed as an assassination attempt.

He died on Monday while he was being held at the state intelligence agency's headquarters, with the government and the opposition party providing conflicting accounts.

Interior Minister Néstor Reverol said in a Twitter post that Alban was in the agency's waiting room when he jumped from a window. A government prosecutor later said that Alban asked to use the bathroom and jumped from there, Reuters reported.

Leadership for the First Justice Party, of which Alban was a member, asserted that the councilman was murdered and thrown from the building, though they have not provided evidence for their claim, the news service reported.

The Trump administration has targeted Maduro and his allies with harsh sanctions in recent months, and condemned the Venezuelan government for the treatment of its citizens. The administration decried Maduro's reelection earlier this year as a "sham."

Trump himself has used the state of affairs in Venezuela as a political attack at home. He warned in comments to reporters on Monday that Democrats had shifted so far left that the U.S. "would end up being Venezuela" if the party took power.

The White House's acknowledgment of Alban's death comes as President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Romney: 'Unthinkable and unacceptable' to not commit to peaceful transition of power Two Louisville police officers shot amid Breonna Taylor grand jury protests MORE has remained largely silent on the disappearance of Saudi dissident and Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi.

While Vice President Pence and several lawmakers have expressed concerns about Khashoggi's disappearance and called for answers from the Saudi government, Trump has refrained from making extensive comments.

Trump told reporters on Tuesday that he did not have any updates on the matter, but called it a "sad situation."

Khashoggi was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Turkish officials have reportedly concluded that he was murdered there, and his body was dismembered on orders from Saudi leadership.