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Agents from the Bolivarian Intelligence Service (Sebin) lead the siege against the residence of the French ambassador in Caracas, Romain Nadal. The electricity, gas and water services were cut, the streets closed and the extreme control against the residents of the area resembles that of a conflictive border before the pandemic.

The police deployment is enormous, as if it were a war zone, which also prevents the purchase of water or fuel tanks for power plants, as well as the collection of garbage. In the affected area, in Valle Arriba (eastern Caracas), there are also the diplomatic residences of Austria, South Africa and even the United States Embassy, ​​which has been closed for a year. The Sebin has used drones to spy on movements in the French residence.

The Chavista siege has provoked the reaction in Paris of the Emmanuel Macron government, which has twice summoned Michel Mujica, a revolutionary representative in France, this week to the "acts of hostility", as Le Monde advanced . The call for consultations did not have any effect and finally provoked a harsh note from the French Chancellery in the face of "serious violations of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations".

The gendarmes assigned to the French diplomatic security in Caracas have intensified surveillance inside the residence, which has sometimes given refuge to relatives of Juan Guaidó, president in charge recognized by France, Spain and the European Union, and collaborators from their environment closest.

And that is precisely the Chavista objective. "(Guaidó) has already chosen the embassy where he wants to go, he is European. He knows what I am talking about, since he sent some suitcases. What will those suitcases have?", Suggested last week Diosdado Cabello, number 2 of the Bolivarian revolution. , after intensifying government threats against the opposition leader. Chavismo directly blames the legitimate president of Parliament for being behind Operation Gideon, the failed landings of several dozen rebels against Nicolás Maduro, in which two US mercenaries participated, without ties to Washington.

The French ambassador has also become a public figure in Caracas, thanks to his cultural initiatives and in favor of human rights, in addition to permanently supporting the democratic Parliament. The last time Nadal was directly threatened by Maduro was after Guaidó's return to Caracas from his world tour, in which he also met with Macron in Paris. The French ambassador went to the Maiquetía airport and witnessed the lynching attempt organized by Chavismo against the opposition leader.

Only 18 months have passed since Quai dOrsay called the revolutionary envoy in his country for the penultimate time for consultations. It happened after the torture and death of opposition councilor Fernando Albán at the Sebin headquarters, a murder later recognized by the director of the political police, General Manuel Cristopher Figuera.

The Caracas residence of the Spanish ambassador, Jesús Silva, also suffered extreme pressure from government agents during the first months of the refuge of former political prisoner Leopoldo López. The leader of Voluntad Popular was released on April 30 last year during the failed military rebellion against Maduro. Several of the soldiers who participated in that uprising were also part of Operation Gideon.

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