Caracas, Venezuela – The Venezuelan government, recognized on Wednesday for the first time that the members of the country’s opposition left the Argentine diplomatic complex where they had protected for more than a year, but denied that their arrival in the United States occurred under an international rescue operation as characterized by the political faction and political faction and The United States Department of State.
The Venezuelan Interior Minister, Diosdado Cabello, said that the group’s movements were negotiated with the Government and also claimed that one of the six people who entered the Argentine ambassador residence in March left the complex in August, contradicting previous statements of the opposition.
Hair statements occurred approximately 24 hours after the United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, announced on social networks that opposition members were on American soil after a “successful rescue.”
The Government of the Argentine President, Javier Milei, allowed the six people to the residence of the ambassador when the loyal authorities to the ruling part of Venezuela issued arrest orders, accusing them of promoting acts of violence to destabilize the country. The group included the campaign manager and communications director of the opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, as well as Fernando Martínez, a cabinet minister in the 1990s.
Martínez left the complex in mid -December And, according to Venezuelan authorities, he appeared before prosecutors. He died in February.
After Rubio’s announcement on Tuesday, Machado thanked the people involved in what he called an “impeccable and epic operation for the freedom of five heroes of Venezuela.” But Cabello claimed that only four people remained at the embassy after Martínez’s departure.
Since the end of November, the group had denounced the constant presence of intelligence service agents and the police outside the residence. He had also accused the government of President Nicolás Maduro to reduce electricity and water services to the complex. The government denied the accusations.
“They put their program, and in the end, they ended up negotiating,” Cabello said on Wednesday during his weekly program on state television.
Cabello did not offer details of the group’s movements to reach the United States, but alleged that Machado negotiated with the government to allow his mother to leave the country, which said he did it on Monday through a commercial plane that was heading to the capital of Colombia, Bogotá.
Machado, which was Last seen in public in JanuaryHe did not respond immediately to hair accusations.
Maduro’s government routinely pointed to its real or perceived opponents before last year’s presidential elections, and His repression against dissent only increased After the National Electoral Council, which is full of Maduro’s loyal, the winner declared it despite the credible evidence.
The electoral results announced by the Electoral Council caused protests throughout the country to which the Government responded strongly and ended with more than 20 people dead. They also caused the end of diplomatic relations between Venezuela and several foreign countries, including Argentina.
When the hair television program was broadcast, Machado’s campaign manager, Magalli Meda, said in X that his house was being raided and shared time photos that showed men dressed in black, some with a covered face and with bulletproof vests, in a living room.
“We denounce that at this time, while Cabello is about alleged negotiations for our departure, its repressive arm is violating our house in Caracas,” he said. “These images were obtained remotely a few moments.”
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García Cano reported from Mexico City.
