President Trump firmly condemned Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's administration Wednesday morning for its alleged involvement in the death of Venezuelan opposition councilman Fernando Alban.

"The United States condemns the Maduro regime’s involvement in the death of Venezuelan opposition councilman Fernando Alban. Venezuelan authorities took Alban into custody on October 5, upon his return from the United Nations General Assembly, where he spoke to the world about the importance of returning democracy to the people of Venezuela," the president wrote in a statement Wednesday.

Alban, 56, was taken into custody Friday at Caracas’s international airport upon his return from New York City. Alban was in New York with other members of Venezuela's First Justice party to meet with foreign officials who attended the U.N. General Assembly.

Venezuelan officials claim Alban committed suicide by leaping from the 10th floor of the Venezuelan state police headquarters, but some members of Venezuela's opposition party contend Maduro's regime is responsible for Alban's death.

"The Trump administration will continue to increase pressure on the Maduro regime and its insiders until democracy is restored in Venezuela," the president wrote Wednesday. "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."

The United Nations has said it is willing to conduct an investigation into Alban's death. That investigation would be in addition to the U.N.'s ongoing investigation into reported human rights abuses in Venezuela.

The Trump administration has been tough on Venezuela, increasingly imposing sanctions against Maduro's government since 2017. Over the first two years of Trump's presidency, the administration slapped penalties on Maduro and dozens of Venezuelans for charges ranging from human rights abuses to corruption to drug trafficking.

Under Maduro's regime, the Venezuelan government has imprisoned politicians and political dissenters, limited the power and scope of the opposition party in the country, and created a separate Congress with seemingly unending authority.

The nation's economy is experiencing inflation running at roughly 200,000 percent. Food and medical supplies, which are scarce in the nation, were put under the control of the Venezuelan military.

The deteriorating situation in Venezuela has caused a mass migration out of the country into nearby Latin American nations, causing a migrant crisis along Venezuelan borders.

Trump offered to meet with Maduro and members of his administration while he was at the U.N. General Assembly in late September.

“All options are on the table. Every one. The strong ones, and the less than strong ones. Every option — and you know what I mean by strong,” Trump told reporters at the U.N. General Assembly in New York.

"I just want to see Venezuela straightened out. I want the people to be safe. We’re going to take care of Venezuela," Trump said. "If he’s here, if he wants to meet ... it was not on my mind, it was not on my plate. But if I can help people, that’s what I’m here for."

For his part, Maduro said that a meeting between himself and Trump would "be for the best" and indicated that he was willing to meet with the president. No such meeting has materialized.