Luis Ayllón
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, had a telephone conversation yesterday afternoon with his Venezuelan colleague, Yván Gil, in which “he was interested in the arrest of the Spanish-Venezuelan citizen Rocío San Miguel, according to a spokesperson of the Spanish Ministry.
The spokesperson added that Albares “has also spoken” with the Venezuelan foreign minister “about the situation of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner.”
This is the first official reaction from a senior official of the Spanish Government, since Rocío San Miguel was arrested on the 9th when she was trying to leave Venezuela with her family. Since then, the whereabouts of the activist, who chairs Citizen Control, an NGO created in 2005 that is dedicated to supervising security, defense and Armed Forces issues, is officially unknown. However, some sources suggest that she is detained in Caracas, in the building known as ‘el helicoide’, one of the headquarters of the Chavista intelligence services.
The Venezuelan Prosecutor’s Office links Rocío San Miguel and those close to her “allegedly” with a conspiracy plot – called “white bracelet” – to assassinate the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro.
The brief information provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not indicate under what terms the conversation between Albares and Gil took place, nor if the former asked for some type of explanation or demanded to know where the Spanish-Venezuelan lawyer is.
Nor did Foreign Ministry specify in what terms it spoke about the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner, whose activities the Maduro regime suspended on the 15th. It gave its officials 72 hours to leave the country for having “interfered in internal affairs”, after the UN questioned the role of the Venezuelan Justice in the disappearance of the Spanish-Venezuelan activist Rocío San Miguel, emphasizing that it had not been able exercise your right to defense.
Two days ago, a source from the Spanish Embassy in Caracas indicated that the diplomatic representation has been following the case since it became aware of the arrest and is taking steps with the Venezuelan authorities to determine her whereabouts, provide consular assistance and guarantee that their rights are respected. rights.
Yesterday, according to Radio Fe y Alegría, the Spanish consul in Caracas, Marcos Rodríguez Cantero, met with Miranda Díaz San Miguel, the activist’s daughter, and is trying to arrange a visit to the detainee.
On the 13th, PP MEP Leopoldo López Gil asked the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, for “urgent actions” in the face of “the forced disappearance” of Rocío San Miguel and other Spanish citizens.
The United States stated last Tuesday that it is “deeply concerned” about the detention of Rocío San Miguel and urged the Maduro Government to comply with the agreements to improve democracy in the country.
The Spanish Government has so far been very active in trying to have the sanctions on the Bolivarian regime lifted to try to favor the holding of free elections in Venezuela. On January 29, Minister Albares insisted in his appearance before the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Congress of Deputies, on the proposal to review the sanctions, despite the decision of the Maduro Government to disqualify the opposition candidate , María Corina Machado, to prevent her from running in the presidential elections.
However, Albares specified that the decision to maintain the disqualification of María Corina Machado is not in line with what the Government would like to see in Venezuela.
