The situation Andrés Martínez Adasme, 32 years old, and José María Basoa Valdovinos, 35 years old, Two Spaniards detained in Venezuela and linked to Chavismo at the National Intelligence Center (CNI), remains unclear. On Monday, the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated that it “continues to demand from the Venezuelan authorities official and verified information on the detention of two Spaniards, as well as clarifications on the accusations against them.”
Martínez Adasme and Basoa Valdovinos, residents of Bilbaowere arrested in Puerto Ayacucho, where, according to their families, they were vacationing. Last Monday, September 9, after losing track of them, their relatives reported their disappearance on social networks and filed a complaint. They categorically deny, as does the government, having worked for the secret services. Venezuela's Minister of the Interior and Justice, Diosdado Cabello, from the hardline wing of Chavismo, has implicated them in a confusing conspiracy to buy explosives with alleged members of the Sale Venezuela party of opposition leader María Corina Machado, and an alleged plot to assassinate a Chavista mayor. Without presenting evidence of the accusations, he broadcast his photos from the police report on television. He assured that they were in an “irregular situation, taking photos” at the time of their capture.
THE The Spanish Embassy in Caracas maintains contacts with the Venezuelan Ministry of Foreign Affairsto which he said he would exercise diplomatic and consular protection for his nationals. The Venezuelan authorities have not provided any further information on the matter. Nicolás Maduro has escalated tensions following the negotiations that led to the exile of opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia. The veteran diplomat had denounced fraud in the July 28 elections, relying on official records collected by his witnesses, according to which he had won by more than 30 points.
As soon as González Urrutia arrived in Madrid, pressure from the Spanish Congress followed, demanding his recognition as president-elect. Pedro Sánchez remains in line with the European Union, but this unique proposal sparked the anger of the president of the Venezuelan Parliament, Nicolás Maduro's main political operator, who demanded the severance of diplomatic and commercial relations. The waters calmed down after a meeting between Foreign Minister Yván Gil and the Spanish ambassador in Caracas, Ramón Santos, and even allowed Vice President Delcy Rodríguez to meet with representatives of Repsol. These movements were followed last weekend by the new crisis over the two detainees.
Pedro Sánchez spoke about Venezuela this Monday in a meeting in Congress with PSOE deputies, senators and European parliamentarians, but he did not mention the case of the detainees. He reaffirmed once again his commitment to the restoration of democracy in Venezuela and insisted on demanding that Maduro publish the electoral records to verify, in an “impartial and independent” manner, the results that attribute his supposed victory in the presidential elections.
A few weeks ago, Venezuelan security forces also arrested a U.S. soldier whom Cabello implicated in alleged plots to remove Maduro from power by force. A State Department spokesperson said that “Unconfirmed reports of two more U.S. citizens being held in Venezuela”, after Caracas reported that in addition to two Spaniards, three Americans and a Czech had also been arrested in the case. The United States has long warned its citizens not to travel to Venezuela, to which other countries have added warnings urging them to refrain from visiting the destination and, if already in the country, to stay away from the protests.