Venezuelan opposition figures at Argentine embassy request global assistance amid Maduro’s siege

Nearly nine months after taking refuge in the Argentine embassy in Caracas, members of the Venezuelan opposition campaign led by María Corina Machado spoke to the press for the first time on Saturday. They did so via video conference, as Venezuelan police kept watch on the building. In the call, the opposition members reiterated their urgent need for safe-conduct passes to leave Venezuela, where they are facing political persecution.

The Venezuelan government has escalated its pressure on the diplomatic compound where Magalli Meda, Pedro Urruchurtu, Omar González, Humberto Villalobos, Claudia Macero, and politician Fernando Martínez Mottola sought asylum on March 20, after arrest warrants were issued against them. Maduro’s government accuses the group of involvement in conspiracy plots. From their refuge, they coordinated an unprecedented electoral campaign that saw Edmundo González Urrutia challenge Maduro at the July 28 presidential election.

“We are under permanent siege, monitored by drones that have entered Argentine territory, surrounded by hooded men with assault rifles,” said González.

“We are experiencing an unprecedented siege, and this requires urgent action, in coordination with other regional actors,” added Urruchurtu.

The urgency has grown as the Chavista intelligence services have increased their siege of the Argentine embassy, and the group believes they are now at risk. For this reason, they are calling for coordinated protection from both Argentina and Brazil, the latter having taken on the responsibility of guarding the embassy after diplomatic relations between Caracas and Buenos Aires broke down.

For the past 20 days, the group has been without electricity and has been forced to rely on a generator for essential tasks. They have also faced restrictions on drinking water, which is scarce in Caracas. Police presence is constant, but since Wednesday, Meda said, they have been completely isolated within the building. Local staff who helped manage food deliveries and other logistical support were sent home for security reasons. One of the embassy’s drivers was kidnapped on Thursday by hooded men outside his home, and it is not known whether he was arrested.

“We can’t even go out for water or medicine. It’s been extremely exhausting, especially when they decide to show up armed and hooded, making noise as if they’re about to enter. This is psychological harassment,” Meda said. “The regime has decided to use this embassy as a tool of coercion and pressure against anyone they perceive as a threat to their grip on power.”

The embassy has been under Brazil’s protection since July 29, after the diplomatic relations between Venezuela and Argentina broke down over the latter’s rejection of the election results — which Nicolás Maduro reportedly won, despite voter tallies indicating otherwise. However, diplomatic channels have become increasingly strained. In September, Venezuela revoked Brazil’s authorization to represent Argentina’s interests. While awaiting a third country to take on this responsibility, the Brazilian flag continues to fly over the building, which is located next to the Russian and North Korean embassies, as well as other residential properties that have been seized by the police to intensify surveillance of the opposition.

Deaths in prison

In addition to the tense situation at the Argentine embassy, the government has cracked down on protesters, with more than 2,000 people imprisoned in just a few days after the election results were announced. On Friday night, Jesús Rafael Álvarez died from lack of medical attention in the Tocuyito prison, one of the facilities set up by the Chavistas to imprison protesters. He is the second person arrested in the post-electoral repression to die in state custody, following the death of Jesús Manuel Martínez in a prison in eastern Venezuela a month ago.

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