- Through a statement, the Argentine government assured that there is separation of powers in that country.
The Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs has condemned the arrest warrants requested on September 18 by Venezuela’s Attorney General, Tarek William Saab, against the president of that country, Javier Milei, and other officials of his government. In a statement, it questioned the validity of the case of the confiscation of a Venezuelan plane in Argentine territory as a justification for the criminal investigation.
He indicated that the case of the Boeing 747-300 of the Aerocargo del Sur Transport Company (Emtrasur) was resolved by the Judiciary without intervention by the Executive. Likewise, its shipment to the United States in January 2024 was due to compliance with international agreements.
The Argentine government reminds the Venezuelan regime that the separation of powers and the independence of judges prevail in the Argentine Republic, something that unfortunately does not occur in Venezuela under the regime of Nicolás Maduro,” the Foreign Ministry said.
Investigation
During a statement from the Public Ministry, Saab indicated that two prosecutors from his organization An investigation is underway into the alleged theft of the Emtrasur plane. He indicated that he will appeal to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime to request the arrest of President Milei, as well as the Secretary General of the Argentine Presidency, Karina Milei, and the Minister of Security, Patricia Bullrich.
Saab said that the convention allows a State to exercise its jurisdiction to intervene in crimes committed against an aircraft registered by that country or against one of its citizens, even if this occurs outside its territory. In this case, the prosecutor plans to charge the president and his officials with crimes such as aggravated robbery, money laundering, unlawful deprivation of liberty and simulation of a punishable act, among other charges under Venezuelan law.
The statement also said that two other prosecutors were appointed to investigate alleged human rights violations committed by Milei’s government against the Argentine people, based on the principle of universal jurisdiction. This same concept, endorsed by international justice, is currently being applied by Argentina to investigate the government of Nicolás Maduro. There was no mention of this specific case in the Argentine Foreign Ministry’s statement.
Emtrasur Case
On June 6, 2022, an Emtrasur plane, a subsidiary of the state airline Conviasa, attempted to land at Ezeiza International Airport in Buenos Aires, coming from Mexico. Unable to refuel there, it attempted to fly to Uruguay, but was denied permission to enter its airspace. It then returned to Ezeiza, where Argentine authorities ordered the confiscation of the aircraft and the detention of its 19 crew members, of whom five were Iranian and 14 Venezuelan.
The decision was made in response to a complaint from the United States, since the Emtrasur Boeing was leased to the Iranian airline Mahan Air. The latter was sanctioned by the Treasury Department, so both its transfer to the Venezuelan government and its operations in Latin America were prohibited. Likewise, an investigation was ordered into the captain of the crew, Gholamreza Ghasemi, for having been a member of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard, considered by Washington to be a terrorist group.
This entire process occurred during the government of Peronist Alberto Fernández, who, despite his closeness to Venezuela, did not oppose the measure because it was precisely a case handled by the Judiciary. Between September and October 2022, the crew members were released and returned to Venezuela. However, the plane remained in judicial limbo until January 2024, already with Milei in power, when federal judge Federico Villena ordered its definitive seizure.
The following month, the plane was sent to the United States, where it remained in the custody of the Treasury Department until it was finally dismantled as part of an inspection. At the diplomatic level, the Maduro government responded by blocking Venezuelan airspace for any Argentine aircraft.
History of the conflict
In recent months, diplomatic relations between Venezuela and Argentina have deteriorated considerably due to the friction between Nicolás Maduro and Javier Milei. For example, in July 2024, Argentina announced that it would would reinstate the complaint against the Maduro government before the International Criminal Court (ICC). This had been presented in 2018 by the then Argentine president Mauricio Macri together with the governments of the Lima Group. However, Alberto Fernández withdrew from the case some time later.
The situation worsened with the asylum of six opposition activists at the Argentine Embassy in Caracas, which have been the subject of multiple sieges by Venezuelan security forces. After the presidential elections of July 28 in Venezuela, Argentina was one of the countries that showed its distrust in the results given by the National Electoral Council (CNE). This led to the expulsion of Argentine diplomats in the country, leaving its Embassy and the opposition members in asylum there. under the protection of Brazil.
In July 2023, Argentine prosecutor Carlos Stornelli opened an investigation against Nicolás Maduro, Diosdado Cabello and five officers of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) for alleged human rights violations committed during the 2014 protests. In April of this year, the case was taken up by the Federal Court of Buenos Aires, protected by the principle of universal jurisdiction.
On September 17, the Argentine Prosecutor’s Office met with representatives of the Argentine Forum for the Defense of Democracy (FADD) and Venezuelan victims of human rights violations. From there, they ratified the request made at the beginning of the month to the ICC for issue arrest warrants against Maduro and other senior officials.
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2024-09-19 02:10:01
