There are at least 34 people detained in Venezuela alone in 2024 accused of treason and terrorism, charges for allegedly being involved in a conspiracy to assassinate President Nicolás Maduro; to the Minister of Defense, Vladimir Padrino López, and other government officials, according to the official version.
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The latest detainees are the human rights activist and expert on military, security and defense issues Rocío San Miguel and her ex-partner Alejandro González de Canalesa retired military man.
San Miguel, whose defense has not been able to establish direct communication since she was detained last Friday at the Maiquetía airport in Caracas, is being held in the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (Sebin) of Helicoide, in the country's capital. For its part, Gonzalez de Canales He is private in the Directorate of Military Counterintelligence (Dgcim), also in Caracas.
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Notably Both centers are designated as torture chambers, according to those who have been deprived of their liberty in those dungeons..
According to the Attorney General of the Republic, Tarek William Saab, the arrest of San Miguel and his family group – five more people, of whom four were released under a regime of presentation – does not represent a violation of human rights and much less a forced disappearance. as his defense and several NGOs, including Amnesty International, have denounced.
(Keep reading: Relatives of Rocío San Miguel, accused of 'terrorism' in Venezuela, are released from prison)
The arrest was carried out “within the legal limits and in strict accordance with the law. A presentation hearing was held prior to an arrest warrant,” Saab said yesterday during a press conference, alleging that other prisoners linked to the conspiracy plans against Maduro, which were supposedly going to be executed in December 2023, pointed to San Miguel. as a collaborator of the plan.
“Its mission was to communicate in real time the terrorist actions that would be developed. In the telephone extractions, evidence has been seen that links her to the plots, where she recognizes her role in conspiring,” said Saab.
For its part, The defense of San Miguel warned last night about the raid on the victim's home with her 24-year-old daughter inside, who was released last Tuesday.
(You can read: Venezuela: Prosecutor announces indictment of Rocío San Miguel and will request preventive detention)
Human rights organizations insist that San Miguel's experience speaks for itself and that the prosecutor's accusations are false.
For Claudia Carrillo, from the NGO Committee of Relatives of Victims of Caracazo (Cofavic), it is urgent that the Government “end the actions of intimidation and discredit against defenders”, especially because “women defenders are the main victims and the disappearance Forced is one of the worst methods.”
Women defenders are the main victims and forced disappearance is one of the worst methods.
According to Cofavic, with extensive experience in defending victims of disappearance, from 2018 to 2023 there have been 2,227 attacks against organizations and their representatives, but these last three years have been the worst, increasing discredit campaigns “and the use of forced disappearance as a State mechanism,” Carrillo insisted yesterday during a demonstration demanding the liberation of San Miguel.
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These new arrests have caused an international stir, especially due to the way in which they were carried out, some are more media-friendly than others, for example, on the island of Margarita, in the north of the country, it was learned of the arrest of engineer Carlos Salazar, for recording Álex Saab in a store in a shopping center and publishing it on the networks, and only this Wednesday his whereabouts were known. But so far there are no details about Salazar.
The United States, the European Union and several other countries have demanded that Nicolás Maduro not only comply with the Barbados agreement signed with the opposition in October, but respect the guarantees and civil rights, as well as the release of political prisoners, who today number more than 270 according to records of the Foro Penal organization..
The truth is These arbitrary decisions in the middle of an election year will generate even more tension with Washington, which 15 days ago threatened to reimpose sanctions on Venezuela's energy sector starting April 18 if María Corina Machado's candidacy is not first rehabilitated or she is prevented from the opposition participate freely in this year's elections.
Although the warning of the return of sanctions is more directed at the electoral issue, the arrest of opponents is considered by the US as another breach of the agreements in Barbados and complicates the secret negotiations that are currently underway to find a way out of the impasse.
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In fact, last week a US delegation headed by National Security Advisor John Finner and President Joe Biden's advisor for Latin America, Juan González, was in Bogotá last week, whose objective was to seek channels of understanding with Maduro. through the administration of Gustavo Petro.
But González resigned from his position, which may weigh on the dialogue processes between the Biden and Maduro administrations, since the Colombian served as a bridge to advance negotiations.
Maduro has dealt several blows to the talks. Firstly, canceling the repatriation flights of Venezuelan citizens and, on the other hand, tightening the siege against his political rivals and opponents.s.
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According to sources consulted by EL TIEMPO, what is being generated is a kind of train crash in which the parties are raising the stakes as the days go by. However, from the United States' perspective, there is very little room for a turnaround if the regime does not reinstate Machado or accept another alternative that is viable for the opposition.
Both the State Department and the White House have insisted over the last few days that the doors have not closed and that Maduro still has time to change course.
ANA MARÍA RODRÍGUEZ BRAZÓN
TIME CORRESPONDENT
CARACAS
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