Following several reports about the arrest of an employee of the Argentine embassy in Caracas, EL TIEMPO confirmed that Carlos Barraza, a Venezuelan who has worked at the diplomatic headquarters for 30 years, was arrested by officials of the Bolivarian Intelligence Service (Sebin).
According to the criteria of
The whereabouts of Barraza, who has been described as a trusted employee, are unknown, according to several sources.
Last week it became known that $90,000 had disappeared from the embassy account in Caracas and it seems that the Sebin used this as an argument to arrest the man.
This diplomatic headquarters is under the protection of the Brazilian mission, after Nicolás Maduro expelled the officials. Six collaborators of María Corina Machado are sheltering there.
El Barraza was arrested without a warrant and apparently another employee had been arrested before and released hours later. “It is the fear of all our local staff who remained there,” a diplomatic source told EL TIEMPO, referring to all employees in Caracas.
On August 1, the Brazilian delegation in Venezuela took over the representation of Argentina’s interests. President Javier Milei has emphasized that Maduro did not win the elections of July 28, a position that has annoyed Caracas.
It was learned that Barraza managed the accounting department but did not have access to make transfers or manage money.
Machado calls on the world to hold Maduro responsible for the “unleashed repression” in Venezuela
Opposition leader María Corina Machado called on the international community on Saturday to hold Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro responsible for “the repression unleashed” in the Caribbean country, especially after the July 28 elections, according to the majority opposition, which considers the announced victory of the official candidate in these elections fraudulent.
In X, Machado reiterated that the standard-bearer of the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD) – the largest opposition bloc -, Edmundo González Urrutia, “is the president-elect,” despite the fact that the National Electoral Council (CNE) proclaimed Maduro the winner, which was validated by the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ), both institutions controlled by people close to Chavismo.
In this regard, the former deputy expressed that the international community “must recognize” the “victory” of the opposition and “hold Maduro and his criminal regime responsible for the repression unleashed.”
According to official figures, more than 2,400 people have been arrested since July 29 – some in demonstrations and others in police operations – while 25 people died in acts of violence that the government attributes to the opposition, while anti-Chavez supporters blame the state security forces, on orders from their superiors.
On the other hand, Machado, in her message on X, reiterated that “consolidating the democratic transition” in the Caribbean country is “the only way to stop” Venezuelan migration and for those who are abroad to “return home.”
Last Monday, González Urrutia urged Maduro to “step aside and take the step now to begin a peaceful transition,” for which the anti-Chavez leader said he was willing to engage in political dialogue.
In his opinion, “every day” that the authorities “hinder the democratic transition, Venezuelans suffer a country in crisis and without freedom,” so he reiterated that “clinging to power only exacerbates the suffering” of citizens.
In this regard, the former ambassador – summoned by the Prosecutor’s Office for next Monday for an investigation against him – said that “the people are tired of so much abuse and corruption,” and accused Maduro of being “responsible for so much poverty and pain.” The PUD bases González Urrutia’s “victory” on the “83.5% of the minutes” that it claims to have obtained through people who were witnesses and members of the table, while the Chavistas insist that they are “false.”
Twenty-seven days after the elections, the CNE has still not published the disaggregated results, as required by law, despite numerous calls within and outside the country for the release of this data.
Ana Maria Rodriguez Brazon – Weather correspondent – Caracas
With information from EFE
#Argentine #embassy #worker #arrested #Caracas #forcibly #removed #home #sources