Early Saturday morning, Venezuelan security forces surrounded the Argentine embassy in Caracas, where the refugees are located. six campaign advisers of the main opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado. On other occasions, the authorities had cut off the power and displayed a threatening attitude in front of the diplomatic headquarters, but they had never deployed an operation of this magnitude, still active this Sunday. There were fears that at any moment the police would enter the building and take away the advisers by force, as Ecuadorian officials did in April, when they stormed the Mexican embassy in Quito and arrested former vice president Jorge Glas.
The government of Nicolas Maduro announced a few hours later that it was revoking Brazil's authorization to exercise the Argentine representation in Venezuela, which it had exercised since August 1, when relations between the governments of Nicolas Maduro and Javier Milei were broken off, and ordered the expulsion of all diplomatic personnel. The refugees were about to be left in limbo, at the mercy of the Chavist judicial system that accuses them of terrorism, when Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva intervened as mediator. It was a time when there was greater hope that the efforts of the leftist powers of Latin America – Brazil, Colombia and Mexico – could bring Maduro to the negotiating table after the crisis triggered in Venezuela by the disputed proclamation of the Chavist leader. . without having presented proof of the results.
The Venezuelan government assures that it is “forced” to take this decision due to the evidence it has that the embassy is being used for “planning terrorist activities and assassination attempts” against Nicolas Maduro and Vice President Delcy Rodríguez. Once the revocation was made official, the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded in a note that it had received “with surprise” the decision of the Chavista authorities, it is reported. Naiara Galarraga Gortazar of São Paulo. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs adds that, according to the Vienna Convention, “Brazil will ensure the protection and defense of Argentine interests until the Argentine government designates another State that the Venezuelan government considers acceptable to exercise the aforementioned functions.” Lula's government also warns Maduro's government against the temptation to attack the legation to arrest Machado's collaborators, emphasizing “the inviolability of the facilities of the Argentine diplomatic mission, which is currently hosting six Venezuelan asylum seekers.” The Brazilian flag was still flying this morning at the Argentine embassy.
Since dawn, Argentina has witnessed what is happening around its embassy. The Minister of Security, Patricia Bullrich, said in statements to the media that Sebin, the Venezuelan secret service, is surrounding the building “with the aim of entering and violating all international regulations.” “We are dismayed by what is happening, the possible incursion and seizure of the Argentine embassy, which at this moment It is under the flag of Brazil. (…). This is a call to the entire international community, to all Venezuelans, to resist this brutality of the absolutely authoritarian and dictatorial regime of Maduro. We Argentines are absolutely determined not to let our embassy be taken or disrupted,” Bullrich said.
The Argentine government issued a statement Saturday thanking Brazil for its mediation and reminding the Chavista government that it must respect the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which establishes the inviolability of mission premises. “Any attempt to intrude or kidnap asylum seekers who remain in our official residence will be severely condemned by the international community. Actions like these reinforce the conviction that fundamental human rights are not respected in Maduro's Venezuela,” the text said.
The refugees themselves were the first to sound the alarm. Pedro Urruchurtu, international coordinator of Vente Venezuela – Machado’s party – denounced the situation after eight o’clock in the evening through his account on the social network X. “Sebin and DAET patrols [Dirección de Acciones Estratégicas y Tácticas de la Policía]”Accompanied by hooded and armed officials, surround and besiege the Argentine residence in Caracas,” Urruchurtu wrote. The officials also cut off the power supply to the diplomatic headquarters, as on previous occasions. Three hours after the first message, Urruchurtu warned of the arrival of additional police.
In addition to Urruchurtu, there is also Magalli Meda, campaign manager for the presidential elections and Machado's right-hand man; Claudia Macero, communications coordinator of Vente Venezuela; Omar González, former deputy; Humberto Villalobos, electoral coordinator of the command; and former minister Fernando Martínez Mottola. All have been important strategists in the opposition campaign despite their confinement. It is now up to Buenos Aires to designate another country to assume its diplomatic representation in Venezuela, whose authorities must give approval, as provided for by international law.
President Lula insisted once again on Friday that Maduro must prove he won the election. “I think Maduro’s behavior is disappointing,” Lula said in a radio interview. The siege by security forces comes just after Javier Milei asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue an arrest warrant “against Maduro and other leaders of the regime,” in response to the court’s investigation and the worsening human rights situation in Venezuela after the election. Argentina withdrew from the ICC trial in 2021, under the government of Alberto Fernández. Uruguay has also joined the investigation into alleged crimes against humanity in Venezuela.
Some thirty former presidents from Latin America and Spain have also filed a letter with The Hague, the seat of the ICC, in which they ask prosecutor Karim Khan to issue arrest warrants for Maduro and the number two of Chavismo, Diosdado Cabello, recently appointed Minister of the Interior and Justice. The signatories include former Spanish presidents Felipe González, José María Aznar and Mariano Rajoy; as well as Colombians Álvaro Uribe and Iván Duque; Argentina's Mauricio Macri; Mexico's Vicente Fox and Bolivia's Carlos Mesa.
In the nearly 40 days since the election, Maduro has barely shown any signs of willingness to sit down and negotiate with the opposition, the United States, and other ideologically-linked countries to find a way out of this crisis. Chavismo claims to have won the election, but very few believe this to be true, since the detailed results have not been released. Meanwhile, authorities have arrested thousands of opponents and activists who have denounced electoral fraud and are now threatening to attack the Argentine embassy, which would constitute a new defiance of international law.