CARACAS. – Security agents of the regime of Nicolás Maduro, including the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (Sebin)besiege the embassy from Argentina, where six members of opposition leader María Corina Machado’s team are protected, after being pursued for months.
In the midst of this action, the Maduro administration announced on Saturday, September 7, that it had revoked Brazil’s approval to represent Argentina’s interests. Custody of the diplomatic mission’s premises, including its assets and archives, was also revoked.
Maduro’s Foreign Ministry argued that the decision is due to the evidence “that exists on the use of the facilities of that diplomatic mission for the planning of terrorist activities and assassination attempts against President Nicolás Maduro and Vice President Delcy Rodríguez by fugitives from Venezuelan justice who remain within it.”
For its part, the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated: “The Brazilian government was surprised by the communication from the Venezuelan government that it intends to revoke its consent for Brazil to protect Argentina’s interests in Venezuela (…) In accordance with the Vienna Conventions on Diplomatic Relations and Consular Relations, Brazil will remain under the custody and defense of Argentine interests until the Argentine government indicates another State acceptable to the Venezuelan government.”
Argentina also rejected Venezuela’s unilateral measure and warned the Maduro regime that it must respect the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which enshrines the inviolability of mission premises. “Any attempt to interfere or kidnap asylum seekers who remain in our official residence will be harshly condemned by the international community. Actions such as these reinforce the belief that fundamental human rights are not respected in Maduro’s Venezuela,” said Javier Milei’s government.
Embassy surrounded
The Unitary Platform rejected this Saturday, September 7, “the irregular situation that is occurring outside the headquarters of the Argentine embassy in Venezuela. There are members of the Comando Con Venezuela who have been persecuted by Nicolás Maduro.”
“Today we have just completed 170 days isolated and sheltered in the embassy of Argentina “The embassy that welcomed us on March 20 of this year. Exhausting. In these last five hours, patrols, motorcycles and hooded officials have surrounded the facade of the embassy that has been under the custody of Brazil since August 1,” wrote Magally Meda, who was the campaign manager for opposition leader María Corina Machado, on her account on the social network X on the night of Friday, September 6.
Meda denounced that in Venezuela there is “a State without control, without law, without order, not even within the framework of international respect. I wonder how they behave outside these borders, how their families live in other countries. There is a popular saying: Respect so that you are respected. Not just because, but because there are duties and rights that apply equally to everyone.”
Pedro Urruchurtu, International Coordinator of the organization Vente Venezuela and one of those seeking asylum in the Argentine embassy, said the place remains surrounded by agents of the Directorate of Strategic and Tactical Actions (DAET) of the Bolivarian National Police (PNB) and the Bolivarian Intelligence Service (Sebin), and “hooded and armed officials.”
On Saturday, US Senator Rick Scott warned that failing to guarantee the protection of the Argentine embassy “would seriously violate international diplomatic agreements and aggravate already unstable conditions in the region. The international community must respond immediately. President Lula Da Silva, history will judge those who stand for justice, now is your time to act.”
