Venezuelan opposition in the siege status hidden in message
Venezuelan opposition in the siege status hidden in message
The residence of the Argentine ambassador in Caracas, Venezuela, is fulfilled by a depressing silence these days. Instead of diplomatic conversations or Christmas carols, the only noises are the whir of a small diesel generator, which the residents turn on twice a day to charge their phones.
Isolation of the diplomatic mission
The rest of the time remains the villa almost unemployed. The few remaining residents deal with their own lonely tasks, almost like in an oversized prison with a few inmates. The ambassador was shown by the Venezuelan government after the controversial presidential election in July, shortly after President Nicolás Maduro declared himself the winner and BUENOS AIRES had contested this.
asylum seekers under siege
Instead, five political asylum seekers - all members of the team of the Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado - have found refuge in the residence for more than nine months. Now they report on a "siege" by the Venezuelan security forces. "The government's pressure has increased in the past few weeks. Psychological torture, we are under constant surveillance and nobody can visit ourselves without permission ... The mental damage we are exposed is enormous," said Omar González in a virtual press conference at the beginning of the month.elections and international reactions
After the elections in July, the opposition published tens of thousands of election documents, which she made as evidence that her candidate Edmundo González had won the election. Independent observers and wahle experts attended this evidence of authenticity and questioned the election authority's decision to recognize Maduro as the winner. Edmundo González has now fled to Spain, while Maduro is preparing for the beginning of his new term on January 10th. González has publicly promised to return to Venezuela in January to introduce his own government, even if it remains unclear how he could return to the country without the risk of prosecution.
growing threats for the opposition
In March, six opposition figures were charged with terrorist activities and treason because they had worked with Machado. This went underground shortly after the election for security reasons. While the government of Maduro occasionally denied that the diplomatic residence was in the state of siege, she announced that the group would soon end up behind bars. Macado's team claims that they had not done anything wrong, but has no doubt that they would be arrested if they leave the residence.
living conditions of the asylum seekers
The group has decided to publicly contact the media after the security measures around the residence have been tightened, which has been under the diplomatic protection of Brazil since the Argentine diplomats were shown. The green and yellow Brazilian flag is now blown over the residence, but there are no official representatives present to afford company. The Venezuelan security forces have set up a number of control points to monitor access to the residence, but have not yet reached the interior.
electricity and water shortages
The pressure on your refuge increases. On November 26, the state Venezuelan energy company deployed the power supply. The security forces also brought the surrounding buildings under control, and last week the general secretary of the organization of American states, Luis Almagro, posted a photo of a person who apparently observes the building from a nearby tree - with a sniper rifle in hand.
drones fly regularly over the site, and the Venezuelan police units have threatened to penetrate the residence several times, mainly at dawn, such as González and the others report that other countries ask for intervention. Argentina granted all six asylum in March, but the five, who are still in the residence, have no way to get there without risking arrest on the way.
life under extreme conditions
The asylum seekers describe a dark picture of their life in isolation in interviews. Omar González, 74, has had his wife, who now lives abroad for 53 years. This is the first time that the couple will spend Christmas separately. "Electricity is our biggest problem: we cannot just go out to charge our phones or go to the toilet ... We are isolated," said Magalli Meda, 56, Machados campaign manager.
The water supply takes place via a small tank that can only be filled with the generator: If the generator is off, there is no flowing water. Meda, who is a designer, tries to distract herself by painting. "I like to paint wild horses or birds who fly away, open cages ... Everything I feel: sometimes I paint the pain to be locked up. This message has become a prison," she said.
accept challenges
on June 28th, the 100th day of their inclusion in the residence-when they still had access to water and electricity-Pedro Urruchurtu published a short video diary on his Instagram account, where he runs and reads in the garden: At that time, diplomatic employees were allowed to enter and leave the residence what the group brought books and other things from friends and family. Urruchurtu, 34, Machados consultant for international relationships, told CNN that he runs 8,000 steps a day to keep his focus, but that the tensions and the stress of constant isolation are demanding their toll - a feeling that all six parts.
"Everyone has a different coping strategy, but for the most part you are alone: it is not that we eat here and are happy here ... it's hard," said Claudia Macero, 32, Machado's spokeswoman. Macero, Meda and Urruchurtu try to work as regularly as possible for the opposition movement of Venezuela, which often means talking to the relatives and friends of political activists who are recorded in the notorious prisons of the country ...
Hope for change
The group tries to maintain optimism and speculate how long they can survive with the few fuel and food that are still present. When they entered the residence in March, none of them believed that they would stay there until Christmas. "It is like standing up time," said Urruchurtu, who celebrated his birthday with a video call to his family in October. "To maintain a habit is very important ... to separate work and leisure, as we all learned during pandemic. With siege and without electricity, everything basically expires when the generator stops working," he reported.
meda is more relaxed and shares her disappointment about international institutions that, in their opinion, should do more, but prove to be "too slow and inefficient". In the past week, the Associated Press reported that a high -ranking consultant of the International Criminal Court has resigned to proceed against Maduro because of the inability of the prosecutors, who has been investigated since 2021 for crimes against humanity, but still firmly has control over his country.
After dark, the group goes to bed early. The sunset in Caracas is at 6 p.m., and with the switched -off power supply there is only light from candles and flashlights. Macero admits that she often has difficulty falling asleep or sleeping through. "Sometimes I wake up and don't even remember which day day is because they are all the same," added Macero. "Then the work begins and we are constantly busy ... it is more like looking for protection in his office, without electricity and water," she joked.