Venezuela's second most powerful man on Monday referred to the arrests of two relatives of President Nicolás Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores as a "kidnapping." The official reportedly has little faith in the U.S. justice system's guarantees of due process for the imprisoned family members.

Diosdado Cabello, the president of the country's National Assembly, accused Washington of trying to discredit Maduro's government, less than a month before crucial legislative elections.

His remarks on state-run television marked the first time a top Venezuelan official has spoken out about the case of Efraín Antonio Campo Flores, 29, and Francisco Flores de Freitas, 30, who were taken into custody last week, The Wall Street Journal reported.

"I don't see this as a detention," Cabello explained. "They kidnapped two people because that procedure was illegal ... They did that in full electoral campaign to create damage."

Campo Flores and Flores de Freitas are the first lady's adopted son and nephew, respectively. They were arrested in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and were turned over to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which accused them of trying to smuggle 800 kilograms of cocaine into the United States.

They made an initial court appearance in New York last week, but for the time being, they are being held without bail. Campo Flores and Flores de Freitas could face life in prison upon conviction, according the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

They intend to plead not guilty next week, lawyers for the men told the New York newspaper.

Cabello on Monday even went into detail as he criticized the DEA's actions in the case, The Associated Press reported.

"It's very irregular what the DEA has done in this case," he said. "It's the DEA's normal procedure to kidnap people in a lot of places."

The National Assembly president also denied media reports that Campo Flores had been raised by Maduro as his stepson, according to The AP.

"I can assure you that's a lie," he said, "but it's not my place to say so."