Venezuelan forces surround the embassy sheltering opposition figures
Venezuelan security forces have encircled the Argentine embassy in Caracas, where six Venezuelan political figures opposed to President Nicolás Maduro are taking refuge.
Opposition members have shared images and videos showing intelligence service officers establishing a perimeter around the embassy complex. Those inside the building have reported being under “siege” by Maduro’s regime.
Since Argentina and Venezuela severed diplomatic relations over the summer due to the presidential election results, Brazil has represented Argentine interests in Venezuela. However, on Saturday, the Venezuelan government withdrew Brazil’s custody of the embassy, seemingly to strip away its diplomatic protection.
Argentina is among several nations challenging the official results of the presidential election, which awarded Maduro a third term. Some have demanded the Venezuelan government release voting data, while Maduro’s allies, including Russia and China, have endorsed his victory.
The Venezuelan opposition claims its candidate, Edmundo González, won the election, but Western nations have not recognized him as president-elect.
The recent Venezuelan government actions follow the Argentine foreign ministry’s announcement that it will request the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants for Maduro and other high-ranking officials.
Pedro Urruchurtu Noselli, an adviser to opposition leader María Corina Machado, who has been at the embassy since March, reported on X that there was an “increasing presence of hooded officials” as of Saturday morning.
“They have closed off vehicular traffic on the street. We are still without electricity.”
Meanwhile, Omar Gonzalez Moreno, another opposition official, said that the embassy had been without electricity since Friday evening.
“The siege and threat of attack on the Argentine diplomatic headquarters in Caracas, represented by Brazil, by security agents of the Maduro regime, continues,” he added.
The Venezuelan government said it had been forced to take action after it supposedly uncovered “evidence of the use of the facilities… for the planning of terrorist activities and assassination attempts” against Mr Maduro and his deputy.
Brazil said in a subsequent statement that it would continue to represent Argentina’s interests in Venezuela until another government was selected to fulfill the role.
It emphasized “the inviolability of the facilities of the Argentine diplomatic mission”.
The Argentine foreign affairs ministry said in its statement: “Any attempt to interfere or kidnap asylum seekers staying 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.”
The foreign ministry of Chile criticized Venezuela for what it described as acting “without justification”, adding the move showed “serious disregard” for an international convention on diplomatic premises.
Venezuela’s decision has also attracted condemnation from Paraguay and Uruguay.
