Daniel Lozano
Updated Thursday, March 28, 2024-17:16
Venezuela Nicolás Maduro cuts off the power to the Argentine embassy in Caracas for sheltering several opponents
The Bolivarian revolution has kept the Argentine Embassy in Caracas under siege since six opposition leaders entered its facilities last Monday. Officials from the National Electric Corporation (Corpolec) proceeded that day to cut off the electricity supply, even taking the fuses.
There have also been intermittent outages in water service.
Inside the legation remain part of the political team closest to María Corina Machado, headed by
Magalli Meda
, campaign manager and woman of total confidence of the opposition leader, and Pedro Urruchurtu, international coordinator of Vente Venezuela (VV), a party led by the liberal-conservative leader. They are accompanied by former deputy Omar González, who currently serves as one of the regional coordinators of the electoral command; the electoral expert Humberto Villalobos, one of the most prestigious in the country, and Claudia Macero, in charge of the party's communication. A sixth person prefers to keep his identity anonymous for security reasons.
Sources from Vente Venezuela (VV), María Corina Machado's party, denounced to EL MUNDO that the siege launched is
a violation of article 22
of the Vienna Convention for diplomatic relations. "The bravery shown by the officials of the Argentine Foreign Ministry in Venezuela are gestures that exalt them. The position of President Javier Milei is absolutely brave, we feel safe here. Until now we have not done any procedures," explained Omar González to an Argentine radio station. .
Within VV we value "the protection and refuge that the Argentine state is providing in these hours of attack by the regime. It
is a way to keep our colleagues safe.
These are difficult times, but the Embassy has taken care of to provide them with all the necessary care. We know they are fine. Working and fighting."
The Embassy crisis comes at the worst moment for relations between Venezuela and Argentina, once the "romance" maintained during the administration of Alberto Fernández has ended. The exchange of accusations between both governments is constant.
The feared Bolivarian Fury, as Maduro baptized this attack against VV, has already cost seven leaders in prison, including the number 2 in Machado's party and national coordinator, Henry Alviarez, and the former deputy and political leader, Dignora Hernández. At the end of last year, both Alviarez, Urruchurtu and Macero remained sheltered in a European embassy for several weeks.
Since the end of last year, the government has implicated the leaders of VV, a "microsect" according to the Prosecutor's Office, in the most varied conspiracies,
all of them without evidence or credibility
, ranging from border crossings to the seizure of barracks and various attempts to assassination against Maduro.
This is not the first revolutionary siege against an embassy. During the pandemic, three leaders close to the then acting president,
Juan Guaidó
, took refuge in the French Embassy in Caracas. The government also ordered the cutting of electricity and water supplies, as well as gas, in addition to militarizing the area.
Former political prisoner
Leopoldo López
also remained a refugee in the residence of the Spanish ambassador in the Venezuelan capital for 18 months. The Spanish legation had the protection of a team of GEOs, something that Buenos Aires intends to imitate by sending several soldiers to Caracas.