CARACAS, Venezuela: The United States Tuesday said it was “deeply concerned” about the detention of a human rights activist in Venezuela who stands accused of involvement in an alleged plot to assassinate President Nicolas Maduro.
Spanish-Venezuelan lawyer and government critic Rocio San Miguel (57) was detained in the immigration area of the airport in the capital Caracas on Friday.
Her arrest comes in a fraught election year in which Maduro has already blocked his main opposition rival, prompting the United States to threaten to reimpose recently eased oil sanctions.
San Miguel’s defence team said she was arrested in an “enforced disappearance” along with her ex-husband, while her daughter, two brothers and father were detained and later released.
Attorney General Tarek William Saab wrote on X on Monday that San Miguel was charged with “crimes of treason, conspiracy, terrorism and association” among other charges.
Her ex-husband, retired soldier Alejandro Jose Gonzales De Canales Plaza, is being held for allegedly leaking “political and military secrets concerning the security of the nation,” Saab added.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby warned that President Joe Biden’s administration is “deeply concerned” and is “monitoring the situation very, very closely.”
He said Maduro “must fulfill the commitments he made … on how they will treat civil society, political activists and opposition parties.”
EU spokeswoman Nabila Massrali called for the immediate release of San Miguel.
But Saab condemned the “wild campaign from abroad against the judicial system and the Venezuelan state”.
Maduro’s government and the opposition reached an agreement in Barbados to hold a free and fair vote in 2024 with international observers present, prompting the United States to ease sanctions.
But the Maduro-loyal Supreme Court recently upheld a 15-year ban on opposition primary winner Maria Corina Machado, prompting Washington to reimpose some sanctions.
The UN rights office’s independent investigative mission to Venezuela condemned the arrests as part of a “wave of repression against opponents”.
“These are not isolated incidents, but rather a series of events that appear to be part of a coordinated plan to silence critics and perceived opponents,” mission chairwoman Marta Valinas said in a statement.
The detention comes after Venezuelan authorities said in January they had uncovered five plots to assassinate Maduro, involving rights activists, journalists and soldiers.
Maduro frequently denounces plans to overthrow him, usually with the alleged involvement of the United States and the opposition.
Saab said San Miguel and her ex-husband were among six citizens allegedly involved in the “White Bracelet” plot. It was unclear if the other accused were members of San Miguel’s family.
The “White Bracelet” is described by the government as a plan to attack a military base in Tachera on the border with Colombia as part of an alleged plot to kill Maduro.
San Miguel runs Citizen Control, an NGO that investigates security and military issues, such as the number of citizens killed by security forces.
In 2018, she won a case against Venezuela at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights for violations of political rights and freedom of expression.
The case was related to her removal from the state entity in 2003 after she supported a call for a referendum to remove then-President Hugo Chávez from office.
Foro Penal, an NGO that provides free legal aid, says there are 261 political prisoners in the country, including 18 women and 146 soldiers.
