Officials from the Bolivarian Intelligence Service - the secret service of the Government of Nicolás Maduro - arrested on Friday night Emil Brandt, a member of the Vente Venezuela party, and María Corina Machado's campaign manager in the State of Barinas, a federal entity in the plains. Venezuelans located almost seven hours from Caracas.
The authorities did not report on the causes of this measure, the fourth that has taken place in a few weeks against regional members of Machado's political organization.
But surely these are accusations such as treason or terrorism, the legal means that Chavismo is using to intimidate its adversaries.
Machado reacted this Saturday to the news on his social networks: “This action constitutes one more violation of the already trampled Barbados Agreement and shows that Maduro has chosen to continue 'the hard way'.
We demand a firm reaction from all national and international actors who support a true presidential election in Venezuela.
"We will continue to travel throughout our country in building more and more strength and citizen organization to achieve electoral victory this year."
Machado, the opponent most likely to beat Maduro, is disqualified by Chavismo from participating in the elections and it is very unlikely that that will change.
WORLDWIDE ALERT!
I denounce to Venezuelans and the world that the Nicolás Maduro regime has kidnapped our Director of the Campaign Command of the state of Barinas, Emill Brandt, just a few hours after I toured this state.
47 days ago they kidnapped our Directors…
— María Corina Machado (@MariaCorinaYA) March 9, 2024
Luis Camacaro, political coordinator of Vente Venezuela in Yaracuy state;
Guillermo López, coordinator of the Trujillo state;
and Juan Freites, coordinator of the Vargas state, were detained on January 23 by the political police without knowing the reasons, while their relatives clamor for information about their whereabouts.
The spokespersons for Vente Venezuela and the Democratic Platform will denounce the arrests.
A little earlier, on October 23, one day after the opposition primary elections were successfully held, the Attorney General's Office issued arrest warrants against Roberto Abdul, director of the NGO Súmate (founded by Machado in 2004). ;
and Claudia Macero and Pedro Urruchurtu, members of the Vente leadership and activists of Machado's personal trust, for "betrayal of the country and association to commit a crime", for participating in the preparation of primary elections that the Maduro regime did not wanted to recognize and considered fraudulent.
Abdul, Macero and Urruchurtu were released with precautionary measures within the framework of Nicolás Maduro's political negotiations with the United States and the Unitary Platform, at the end of last year.
Machado, who is traveling the country at this time, had come from a successful political tour of the state of Mérida, in the Andean zone, and had just finished appearing in Barinas, the home state of Hugo Chávez, a former official electoral fiefdom, today taken over politically. due to popular discontent.
The regional press has reported that Brandt, who was aware that he was being searched, found refuge in a mechanical workshop, and was discovered by Sebin officials in a commando operation in the El Cambio neighborhood, in the city of Barinas. .
Perkins Rocha and Omar Mora, lawyers linked to the case, have denounced the existence of a forced disappearance against these activists, to which that of Brandt is now added.
Several legal resources have already been executed to find out everyone's whereabouts.
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