MIAMI.- The former heads of State and Government members of the Democratic Initiative of Spain and the Americas (IDEA Group) they condemned the “forced disappearances” carried out by the Nicolás Maduro regime against their political adversaries, and cited the cases of members of the party of María Corina Machado, Vente Venezuela, and the activist Rocío San Miguel.
“Aware that the dictatorial regime of Nicolás Maduro Moros, prevailing in Venezuela, attacks viciously through the practice of forced disappearances against anyone who opposes him, as has recently happened with leaders of the Vente Venezuela party -Juan Freites, Luis Camacaro, Guillermo López, Víctor Venegas – whose leadership is exercised by María Corina Machado and with the renowned human rights defender Rocío San Miguel and her family members, we condemn such events and urgently alert public opinion and the inter-American international community,” says the IDEA Group in a statement released this Tuesday.
The text adds that the events that occurred in Venezuela are “without a doubt, deviations from human and political behavior that recall the totalitarian experiences that filled humanity with shame in the mid-20th century.”
And they consider that these facts are not mitigated by the announcements that the victims will be brought to justice, “while their lawyers and relatives are unaware and are not informed about their whereabouts.”
They recalled that in a report dated September 20, 2023, the United Nations Independent Mission highlighted the existence in Venezuela of “short-term forced disappearances, torture and extrajudicial executions”, which are being investigated by the International Criminal Court (ICC) “to determine the responsibilities of the Maduro regime and establish the chain of command that mediates behind the systematic and widespread practice of these acts constituting crimes against humanity.”
The statement was signed by former presidents Óscar Arias, of Costa Rica; Jose Maria Aznar, Spain;Nicolas Ardito Barletta, Panama; Felipe Calderon, of Mexico; Rafael Angel Calderon, Costa Rica; Laura Chinchilla, Costa Rica; Alfredo Christiani, ofEl Salvador; Ivan Duke, Columbia; Vincent Fox, Mexico; Federico Franco, of Paraguay; Edward Frei, of Chile; Cesar Gaviria T., Columbia; Osvaldo Hurtado, of Ecuador; Luis Alberto Lacalle, of Uruguay; William Lasso M, of Ecuador; Jamil Mahuad W., Ecuador; Carlos Mesa G., of Bolivia; Lenin Moreno, of Ecuador; Mireya Moscoso, Panama; Andrew Pastrana, Colombia; Ernesto Perez Balladares, Panama; Jorge Tuto Surgery, Bolivia; Mariano Rajoy, of Spain; Miguel Angel Rodriguez E., of Costa Rica; Luis Guillermo Solis, Costa Rica; Alvaro Uribe V., Colombia; Juan Carlos Wasmosy, of Paraguay and Asdrúbal Aguiar, secretary general of the IDEA Group.
The renowned activist, human rights defender and expert on military issues, Rocío San Miguel, was detained on Friday, February 9 at the Simón Bolívar International Airport in Caracas. Her arrest became known through information published by human rights organizations that reported over the weekend that San Miguel’s lawyers did not know her whereabouts.
It was learned that four relatives from San Miguel were also arrested: his daughter, his father and two brothers.
On Monday, February 12, at night, the attorney general of the Nicolás Maduro regime, Tarek William Saab, reported in a brief message on the social network alleged plan to assassinate Maduro.
The lawyers carrying out the activist’s defense are taking steps to find out the results of said procedural act.
“At that hearing, Rocío San Miguel did not have lawyers she trusted to guarantee the right to legal assistance, as part of the due process established in article 44 of the Constitution,” said a statement sent to the press.
This Tuesday morning the defense team had also not been able to communicate with San Miguel or any of his relatives who were also detained.
“We do not know the whereabouts of each of these people, so the forced disappearance persists. Rocío San Miguel spent 100 hours incommunicado.” The lawyers insist that San Miguel did not have the right to defense.
In the case of the three regional coordinators of Vente Venezuela, they have been missing since last January 23 and the bodies of the justice system deny all information to their relatives, according to their lawyers.
Source: WRITING
