“We will seek to put Nicolás Maduro in the same situation as Vladimir Putin, with an arrest warrant in almost the entire world, which is what is preventing the Russian president from traveling to most countries,” he stated in an interview with La Nación. from Argentina Dr. Tomás Farini Duggan, lawyer plaintiff of twenty victims of human rights violations that occurred in Venezuela, who now live in Argentina.
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“As happened in Spain in 1998, when an attempt was made to try the Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet for crimes committed in Chilean territory, In the Argentine Constitution, article 118 authorizes the Justice to intervene in cases of human rights violations, even in events that occurred in other countries.“explained Farini Duggan regarding the issue of Argentine jurisdiction in the matter.
On September 17, the Federal Chamber held a hearing with alleged victims of the Venezuelan regime in the Comodoro Py courts within the framework of a case filed in local Justice in 2023 under the principle of “universal justice”. In this file, Nicolás Maduro is being investigated along with about 30 other defendants, among whom is Diosdado Cabello, Minister of Interior Relations and Justice of that country.
The complaint is for a wide series of human rights violations (murders, disappearances, torture and arbitrary detentions) that have occurred since 2014 on Venezuelan soil and after the presidential elections held on July 29, in which Maduro was proclaimed winner without showing the minutes. voting.
Our case is framed within the principle of extra-territoriality that governs violations of human rights.
How is the arrest warrant that you made in Comodoro Py different from the one that the United States has already issued against the Venezuelan president?
The US State Department offers a reward of $15 million for any information that leads to the arrest of Maduro in a trial for drug trafficking and corruption. But that only applies within the United States. Our case is framed within the principle of extra-territoriality that governs violations of human rights. In the same direction, the Argentine Justice is already advancing in the crimes committed in Spain during the Franco regime and in Nicaragua by Daniel Ortega.
What are the next stages, after the formal request for an arrest warrant?
We have already achieved the so-called “universal jurisdiction”, that is, the Argentine Justice system declares itself competent to investigate crimes that occurred in Venezuela. We also ask for the international capture for extradition purposes of Maduro, Diosdado Cabello and all the heads of Venezuela’s security agencies to be tried in Argentina. On September 25, justice notified Interpol of the arrest warrant against Maduro. There is very obvious evidence of human rights violations. In many cases, Maduro and Cabello themselves publicly announced that they were going to arrest someone, and then that person was detained, tortured, or disappeared.
How does the process continue after the request made to Interpol?
Although Interpol recognizes that each country is sovereign to request the arrest of a person, there is then an internal debate among its authorities to decide whether the so-called “red alerts” are issued. Argentina already managed to activate the Interpol red alerts in the Amia case (the terrorist attack suffered by the Argentine Israeli Mutual Association on July 18, 1994), even though they were high-ranking officials. in the Government of Iran. In addition, we also plan to advance in the International Criminal Court, but there are already other processes against the Chavista authorities and the efforts are more complicated.
What are the most serious cases among the twenty you are following?
We cannot give names or information about the people, but there is a person accused by Chavismo who they could not arrest in Venezuela. Then, the mother and brother were arrested and tortured in the Helicoide detention center. There are other cases of people who witnessed homicides. Another person, a member of a charity called Braveheart, was charged with being a member of a terrorist organization. They kidnapped him, tortured him in the Helicoide, subjected him to cattle prods and waterboarding. They then arrested his mother and tortured her and minors in front of him to force him to testify.
Your request for the international arrest of Chavista leaders coincided with that of Maduro against President Javier Milei. Are there any parallels?
Nothing to see. First, the case of the Venezuelan plane that Maduro speaks of had a request for kidnapping from the United States and that is why it was seized and sent to the United States. This cannot be compared with 150,000 extrajudicial executions or 600,000 kidnappings with torture and rape. Furthermore, in the case of the International Criminal Court, they seek to judge Maduro according to the Rome Statute, signed by Venezuela and which recognizes the principle of extraterritoriality for crimes against humanity. Although Venezuela is sovereign to ask Interpol for an arrest warrant against Milei, Interpol also evaluates the basis for each request before issuing red alerts.
What are you looking for with this request? Obviously Maduro is not going to surrender even if Interpol issues red alerts.
We want Nicolás Maduro to be in the same situation as Vladimir Putin, with an arrest warrant in almost the entire world, which is what is preventing the Russian president from traveling to most countries. Furthermore, Maduro is not exempt from what happened to his front man, Alex Saab, who was arrested in 2020 when his plane broke down and landed in Cape Verde. This is how he later ended up extradited to the United States. The important thing is that the Argentine Justice can put a name and surname to what is happening in Venezuela and achieve the total isolation of that regime. It would be a very big victory for Justice.
RUBEN GUILLEMÍ
La Nación (Argentina) – GDA
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