This article was originally published in El Nacional, by Antonieta Jurado.
MADRID.- Throughout history, various dictatorships have resorted to the forced disappearance of people as a strategy to silence opponents, generate fear and maintain political control.
The mysterious disappearance of Sofía María Sahugún Ortiz at the Maiquetía airport is a representation of one of those cases. For at least 50 days, neither his family nor lawyers have been able to find out his whereabouts. Nor have they been notified of their possible arrest by the Venezuelan State.
The last thing Sofía Sahagún’s relatives knew about her whereabouts was when she had crossed immigration at the Maiquetía airport, about to board a plane that would take her to visit her mother in Madrid, Spain. However, Sofia never boarded that flight. On the contrary, since October 23, his whereabouts have been a complete mystery.
“We are convinced that Sofía disappeared at the airport. Everything was in order, he arrived on time, he carried out the immigration check and, suddenly, he disappeared,” the family said in conversation with El Nacional. They say they have exhausted all available resources, including searches in hospitals, police stations and morgues, but have not found any clues that lead them to his location.
What is known about the disappearance of Sofía Sahagún?
According to family members, Sahagún arrived at the airport on time and completed the immigration procedures without problems. But the last connection they had with her was the night of that October 23rd. His mobile phone has remained switched off since then. “It’s as if the earth had swallowed her,” said a family member, visibly affected. “We are desperate. “We don’t know if she is alive, if she is being held, if she has been beaten.”
The case has taken on a disturbing tone after learning that a close relative confirmed that the Sahagún family is friends of many years. Maria Corina Machado. Relatives fear that this connection may have made Sofía Sahagún a target for political reprisals.
“Is it a crime to have family ties with people who fight for freedom and rights in Venezuela?” asked the relative, who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons, with indignation.
Sofía’s case constitutes a forced disappearanceaccording to lawyers consulted by this newspaper. This occurs when a person is detained, kidnapped or deprived of liberty by agents of the State or groups linked to it, followed by the refusal to recognize the fact or report on the whereabouts of the person.
It is an act that not only violates the right to personal freedom, but also turns the victim into a permanent absentee. The victim, in this sense, is suspended between life and death. This is what makes forced disappearance considered a crime of against humanity.
Psychologists describe the disappearance of a family member as an “ambiguous grief.” It is a situation in which the death or life of the missing person cannot be confirmed. This creates a state of constant uncertainty that makes the normal grieving process difficult.
Complaints that have not received a response
Sofía Sahagún’s relatives and lawyers have gone to all possible institutional authorities in search of her whereabouts.
First, they filed complaints with the Prosecutor’s Office, where they were rejected and sent to the Scientific, Criminal and Criminal Investigation Corps (CICPC), who also did not accept the letter. Given the lack of answers, they went with complaints to the Ombudsman’s Office to record the events that have occurred since the day of the disappearance.
While this is happening, Mrs. Belkis, Sofía’s mother, faces a double crisis. On the one hand, the imminence of a surgery that puts her own physical health at risk, and on the other, the emotional torment of not having her daughter by her side to accompany her. For that reason, Sofía was going to take a flight to Spain.
Her daughter’s absence increases her anxiety. It also aggravates their physical condition, since stress has a direct impact on their ability to cope with medical treatment, family members warn. The constant fear and lack of certainty about Sofía’s whereabouts generate a state of hypervigilance that makes her physical and emotional recovery difficult.
