The Argentine government will increase pressure on Venezuela to grant safe passage to six members of the Venezuelan opposition who sought refuge at the Argentine embassy in Caracas, official sources said, adding that they risk their physical integrity if they do not leave the country.
Two Argentine officials told Reuters last week that the government of President Nicolás Maduro, which has sought to sideline political rivals ahead of July's presidential election, had rejected allowing the six to leave the country for safety.
In March, aides to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado requested asylum at the Argentine embassy in Caracas after a local prosecutor issued arrest warrants for them for conspiracy.
Machado, who denied any allegations of misconduct by her team, was barred from being a candidate in the upcoming elections.
Maduro's government has pursued opposition candidates, including Machado, despite electoral commitments signed last year, a trend that led the United States to reimpose broad sanctions on Venezuelan oil in April.
Also in April, Reuters reported, citing an official Venezuelan source, that Maduro's government would allow the six advisors to leave safely to travel to Buenos Aires.
However, sources close to Argentine President Javier Milei told Reuters that no such concession was ever made.
“In the official Argentine residence in Caracas is the entire campaign office of Machado, who is politically persecuted,” said a source, who asked not to be identified. “They have to leave Caracas because their physical integrity is in danger.”
Venezuela's Information Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The statements from Argentine sources mark an important hardening of the tone on the issue of the country's embassy against Maduro, putting diplomatic pressure on him just months before the controversial presidential election.
Another Venezuelan source with knowledge of the matter said he expected Argentina to put significant and more public pressure on the issue this week, with the aim of exerting more regional pressure on Caracas.
“It is likely that other countries will soon begin to speak out asking for a resolution to this issue,” added the first Argentine government source.
A second Argentine government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the country expects the region to “demand that Venezuela respect and comply with the Convention.”
“Venezuela needs to grant safe conduct without conditions so that the six asylum seekers can leave their residence.”
Source: CNN Brasil
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