TO 40 days before the presidential elections, there are already 37 leaders and social activists detained in Venezuela so far this year, accused of inciting hatred and conspiracy to commit a crime.
According to the criteria of
This Monday, exactly 72 hours after the arrest of three people in the state of La Guaira after participating in an event with the opposition Edmundo González, Gabriel González and Javier Cisneros were forcibly detained. Both members of the Vente Venezuela party.
Cisneros was released a few hours later and arrived at the campaign command of opposition leader María Corina Machado.
“It is the terror of the regime that knows it has lost everything (…) None of them have committed any crime, they have only dedicated themselves to promoting the electoral route (…) it is a forced disappearance” said María Corina Machado in an emergency statement after what happened.
Machado said that both young people, who work in his organization, were detained by the Bolivarian Intelligence Service when they were leaving the party headquarters in Altamira, Caracas. They both went to get food at lunchtime to continue their work in the organization.
‘Absolutely contrary conditions’: María Corina Machado calls on the international community
The opposition also reported that those accused have been given a public defense and are told that if they accuse Machado they will be released.. Given this, he urged the international community. “Communications are not enough,” she said.
We advance in an electoral process to be able to choose freely but we do so under absolutely contrary conditions
“I want the world to understand that we are advancing in an electoral process to be able to choose freely but we are doing so under absolutely contrary conditions,” said the opponent accompanied by candidate Edmundo González.
For González, who since Saturday has rejected the recent arrests, assured that “A new episode of violation of the Barbados Agreement has been consummated,” signed in October by the opposition and the Government.
“It is about creating a hostile environment before the start of the campaign. We are going to denounce this new attack in all the appropriate international bodies,” González said after reading a statement.
At least six refugees in the Argentine embassy in Caracas
In the midst of the alert launched by Machado for the arrest of activists, it was also learned that At least six Venezuelan opponents are asylum in the Argentine Embassy in Caracas waiting for the Government of Venezuela to grant safe conduct. to leave the country, a possibility listed as mandatory in the Convention on Diplomatic Asylum (1954), but of “limited” application in practice, say experts.
Although the convention establishes that “the asylum State may request the departure of the asylum seeker to foreign territory”, and expressly indicates that “the territorial State is obliged to immediately give (…) the corresponding safe conduct”, it is added “except in cases of force major”, without specifying further, which leaves the door open to disparate criteria.
For Simón Gómez, professor of International Law at the Andrés Bello Catholic University, “force majeure” is a concept “about which there is a relative general acceptance of its meaning” and refers to “circumstances derived from a natural tragedy” that prevent ” grant safe conduct.”
Argentine embassy in Caracas.
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But the president of the College of Internationalists of Venezuela, Juan Francisco Contreras, told Efe that we must go back to 1954, the year the convention was created, when many countries “had military and dictatorial regimes,” so “there was always a kind of little window to be able to justify some kind of denial”.
For these reasons, both agree that Venezuela could not argue “force majeure” to deny safe passage. However, they remember that there are examples of governments that have denied safe passage under the article of the convention that states that “it is not lawful to grant asylum” to people who, when they request it, “are accused or prosecuted” before “ordinary courts” competent and for common crimes”.
A recent example is the case of Ricardo Martinelli, former Panamanian president who took refuge in the Nicaraguan Embassy, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for money laundering, a sentence that served as an argument for Panama to deny safe passage.
Collaborators of María Corína Machado refugees in the Argentine Embassy.
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The opposite case is that of Pedro Carmona, who, after an unsuccessful coup against Hugo Chávez in 2002, sought asylum in the Colombian Embassy in Caracas. Although he was accused of rebellion, Chávez himself granted safe conduct.
“I must say that, given the sovereign decision (…) of the Colombian Government to grant diplomatic asylum to Dr. Carmona (…) in the next few hours I will issue the safe passage for you to leave Venezuela (…). We are obliged from the point of view of International Law,” Chávez said in May 2002.
What happens if Venezuela denies safe passage?
The Government has not confirmed whether it will approve or deny safe passage to opponents, but the vice president of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), Diosdado Cabello – without a position in the Executive – assured that it was denied.
The asylum State has the power to grant asylum, but the territorial State can argue about the nature of the crimes and refuse.
On May 30, Argentina demanded that Venezuela “immediately issue safe-conduct passes,” in “compliance” with the 1954 Convention. However, for José Bruzual, professor of Public International Law at the Central University of Venezuela, this case “It is not resolved solely with legal criteria.”
“It is a dilemma from the beginning. The asylum State has the power to grant asylum, but the territorial State can argue about the nature of the crimes and refuse to grant safe passage. In practice, these people can remain there for a long time,” he added.
The six opponents took refuge in the Argentine Embassy after the Prosecutor’s Office accused them of various crimes, such as conspiracy and treason., among others. According to the convention, the asylum official “will take into account” the information from the territorial government about the crimes, but “his determination to continue asylum or demand safe passage for the persecuted person will be respected.”
Diosdado Cabello – without a position in the Executive – assured that the opponents’ safe conduct was denied.
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If Venezuela denies the authorization, the convention does not contemplate that any international organization order the issuance of the permit, so “there is no way to force the country to grant safe passage,” concluded the internationalist Contreras.
Those seeking asylum in the Argentine Embassy are Pedro Urruchurtu, Magalli Meda, Claudia Macero, Humberto Villalobos – all members of the opposition party María Corina Machado -, former deputy Omar González and Fernando Martínez Mottola, advisor to the opposition coalition Democratic Unitary Platform.
ANA MARÍA RODRÍGUEZ BRAZÓN – EL TIEMPO CORRESPONDENT – CARACAS
With information from EFE
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