Argentina denounces the siege of its embassy in Venezuela before the International Criminal Court

( Spanish) – The Government of Argentina denounced this Tuesday at an assembly of the International Criminal Court the siege by Venezuelan police forces of its diplomatic headquarters in Caracas, where six opposition leaders to the government of Nicolás Maduro are taking refuge.

Both the refugees themselves and the Argentine authorities have denounced that Venezuelan officials keep the building surrounded, restrict electricity and water services and prevent the passage of vehicles to supply themselves with food.

Mario Oyarzábal, Argentina’s ambassador to the Netherlands and international organizations in The Hague, explained that the property, located in the southeast of the Venezuelan capital, “has faced siege situations by police forces and unidentified unarmed actors, “in retaliation for having offered asylum to people whose lives and integrity are in danger.”

He added that “it is imperative” that Venezuela respects the inviolability of diplomatic headquarters and grants the corresponding safe conduct so that asylum seekers—who belong to the inner circle of collaborators of opposition leader María Corina Machado—can leave Venezuelan territory.

The ambassador also spoke of the post-election crisis in Venezuela, where, he said, after the July 28 elections “the country’s circumstances have deteriorated even more,” since “human and civil rights are systematically violated and the democratic will of its population is deliberately ignored.”

“We urge this Court to act decisively to ensure that those responsible for these crimes are brought to justice. “Impunity not only perpetuates the suffering of victims, but also erodes the foundations of the international legal order,” he noted.

Argentina is one of the countries in the region that are unaware of the results that declared President Nicolás Maduro the winner. As a result of these questions, at the end of July Maduro expelled the Argentine diplomatic corps, whose Embassy was under the protection of Brazil.

contacted the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry for comment on Oyarzábal’s statements and is awaiting a response.

The Government of Venezuela denies that it is carrying out a siege on the Argentine Embassy.

Last week, the Minister of the Interior of Venezuela, Diosdado Cabello, said in a press conference that if the headquarters has been left without services it is because they have not been paid for. “The Argentine Embassy is there, they will see. Let them pay for the electricity, well, let them pay for the services, we are not going to give them anything either,” he argued.

The statements of the Argentine ambassador to the ICC occur a day after the institution’s prosecutor, Karim Khan, asked Venezuela to release minors detained during the electoral protests. This Tuesday, the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry rejected Khan’s words and accused him of being carried away by “public campaigns” against the Maduro Government.