BUENOS AIRES.- The Argentine Foreign Ministry evaluates the options to find a way out for the six Venezuelan opponents who are sheltered in its Embassy in Caracas, after the Nicolas Maduro regime gave diplomatic personnel from the southern country a period of 72 hours to leave Venezuela.
Government sources president Javier Milei They indicated on Tuesday that they are analyzing the options and assured that “the priority is the safety of the asylum seekers.”
Similarly, Argentine presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni said on Tuesday that the withdrawal of diplomatic personnel from the embassy in Venezuela includes the six Venezuelan opposition members.
“According to the Caracas convention in response to the aggressive measures taken by the Maduro regime, of course when the diplomats withdraw, the asylum seekers must also withdraw,” Adorni said.
He also explained that this is an “extremely sensitive” issue. “We are unraveling the facts and what solution we have found to this absolutely unfortunate situation raised by the Government, the pseudo Government of the dictator Maduro,” he added.
It was reported that on Monday afternoon, The Chavista regime ordered the power to be cut off at the residence of the Argentine Ambassador in Caracas, according to one of the Venezuelan opposition members who has sought asylum.
“URGENT!!! Corpoelec officials have just cut off the electricity supply to the residence of the Argentine embassy in Caracas, where the 6 asylum seekers from the campaign team of María Corina Machado and Edmundo González are located,” Pedro Urruchurtu denounced on the social network X.
“Harassment”
In response, Argentina denounces “harassment” of its diplomatic headquarters and warned against “any deliberate action that endangers the safety of Argentine diplomatic personnel and Venezuelan citizens under protection” who remain in the embassy, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
He added that “Argentina calls on the international community to ensure compliance with international regulations governing diplomatic relations between States.”
According to government sources, there are two options being considered: one, which is highly unlikely, is that Maduro grants the opposition a safe passage to leave Venezuela for Buenos Aires. The other is that they are transferred to another diplomatic mission that has no ties with the Chavista regime, La Nación reported.
The Convention on Diplomatic Asylum adopted in Caracas in 1954 It states in one of its articles that “if due to a breakdown in relations the diplomatic representative who has granted asylum must leave the territorial State, he or she will leave with the asylum seekers.”
It also highlights that if this is not possible “for reasons beyond the control of the asylum seekers or the diplomatic agent, the latter must hand them over to the representation of a third State Party to this Convention, with the guarantees established therein.”
Milei denounces fraud
The Maduro regime demanded the departure of Argentina’s diplomatic personnel from Venezuela and also from Chile, Costa Rica, Panama, Peru, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay, while ordering the withdrawal of its representatives from those countries.
He President Milei denounced “fraud” in the Venezuelan electoral process and rejected the proclamation of Maduro’s re-election for a third presidential term.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Diana Mondino expressed confusion regarding the situation at the Argentine embassy in Caracas and uncertainty regarding the refugees who have remained at the embassy since March.
The opposition candidates are Pedro Urruchurtu, Claudia Macero, Humberto Villalobos, Facundo Martínez Mottola, Omar González and Magalí Meda, the latter being the campaign manager for opposition leader María Corina Machado.
Uncertainty
“Now we have this very complex situation where they expel (…) diplomats and do not give authorization or they do not answer or we do not know what to do with the people who are refugees” in the embassy, Mondino declared on Monday to the LN+ channel.
“These people have the right to be in our embassy and if our diplomats have to leave the embassy, the Venezuelan government has the obligation to let them (the refugees) leave with our diplomats. This is truly unheard of,” he added.
The chancellor referred to contacts with the Maduro regime in order to proceed.
“We have tried to speak with the Foreign Ministry to see at least what this statement means, which says that several countries have to withdraw (from Venezuela). What is it? Are we all leaving? When, in what way?” he said.
Mondino considered the possibility of a break in relations between the two countries to be “nonsense.” “Argentina has not broken ties with Venezuela. If they have done so, they have not yet communicated it to us,” he said.
On Monday night, Urruchurtu denounced on social media that members of the Venezuelan security forces were trying to “take over” the Argentine Embassy in Caracas.
“At this moment, DAET officers are trying to take over the residence of the Argentine Embassy in Caracas where the six asylum seekers from the campaign of María Corina Machado and Edmundo González are staying!” Urruchurtu said on X. He also shared images on Instagram.
Source: EDITORIAL / With information from AFP / lanacion.com.ar
