Several Latin American governments have called on President Nicolás Maduro’s government to facilitate the safe passage of six Venezuelans holed up in the Argentine embassy in Caracas.
Omar González, Pedro Urruchurtu Noselli, Magalli Meda, Claudia Macero, Humberto Villalobos and Fernando Martínez Mottola have been sheltering in the embassy since March 2024. They are all allies of the politician María Corina Machado, the leader of the opposition, who was detained by running for power. elections earlier this year.
As of November 23, the Venezuelan government has reportedly cut off water and electricity supplies to the Argentine embassy.
The governments of Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica have all condemned the treatment of the six Venezuelans.
Argentina’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in X that it “expresses its greatest concern regarding the alarming and serious situation at the Argentine Embassy in Caracas, where the lives of six asylum seekers face immediate danger.” The ministry added: “We demand that the Maduro regime immediately release the safe passages that guarantee their safe exit.”
Uruguay also issued a statement expressing “extreme concern” over the situation, describing the six political refugees as “under siege by the authorities”. The statement continued: “The Uruguayan government reiterates its request for compliance with the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the 1954 Caracas Convention on Diplomatic Asylum,” citing the United Nations and Organization of American States (OAS) conventions, respectively. on diplomacy.
A similar sentiment was shared by the Paraguayan government, whose Ministry of Foreign Affairs approved the granting of safe passage to asylum seekers so that they could “depart Venezuela safely” given their “state of deteriorated and delicate health”.
The Dominican Republic has expressed its “solidarity” with Argentina’s request that the six Venezuelans be granted safe passage, explaining: “This is a request in accordance with public international law, humanitarian principles and prudence that must prevail.”
Meanwhile, Costa Rica has emphasized its “refusal” to the treatment of refugees: “The police siege ordered by Maduro is unacceptable and has been intensified by the presence of drones, the closure of nearby roads and the interruption of the provision of basic services. , especially electricity and water.”
The Argentine embassy was surrounded for the third time this year on November 23, when armed police and intelligence services reportedly surrounded the building. There were reports of drones being used to capture images of the building, phone signal being cut and the building losing power intermittently. Since then, Pedro Urruchurtu has posted almost daily updates on X in which he has detailed the treatment of asylum seekers.
In his most recent post, on November 30, Urruchurtu stated that the embassy’s water tank was empty.
Recently, on December 6, Omar González claimed, “Electricity has been cut, as well as other essential services. People who are sent to deliver food and medicine to the Argentine embassy in Caracas are stopped by police checkpoints located at all entrances to this diplomatic headquarters. This accusation has been supported by the group’s lawyer, Tomás Arias, who also claims that the Venezuelan police are destroying the embassy’s fuses so that the building is no longer connected to the electricity grid.
Diosdado Cabello, Venezuela’s Minister of the Interior, Justice and Peace, described allegations of a siege as a “farce” on his weekly television show. With the hammer that gives (Hammering away). In a video that was also posted on the show’s Instagram page, Cabello allegedly showed photos of containers of water being delivered to the embassy, the embassy pool filled with water and political refugees having a barbecue.
