Argentina warned that Maduro violates international agreements with the siege of its embassy in Caracas

• Official Diana Mondino demanded that the Venezuelan State respect Argentine jurisdiction as well as the six opposition members who have been granted asylum in its facilities | Main photo: EFE

Argentine Foreign Minister Diana Mondino on Monday, July 29, condemned the siege of the Argentine Embassy in Caracas by Venezuelan security officials.

The diplomat said that some of her representatives in Venezuela confirmed that state troops patrolled the area surrounding the Argentine representation in the country on Monday afternoon.

“Our representatives see it, they have told us that some of them are hooded,” warned the Argentine foreign minister in an interview for the news channel The nation.

🚨 URGENT | FOREIGN MINISTER DIANA MONDINO SPEAKS AFTER THE NEWS ABOUT THE DANGER AT THE ARGENTINE EMBASSY IN VENEZUELA

“Our representatives have warned us that it would be a real nonsense because they are not complying with international conventions. They are expelling the… pic.twitter.com/YmYia4Hw5z

— Grab the Shovel (@agarra_pala) July 29, 2024

Mondino described as “nonsense” any attempt by Venezuelan officials to enter the Argentine Embassy in Caracas. He warned that, if it were to happen, it would be a violation of international agreements.

“They are not complying in any way with international conventions and it is a great irony that the Asylum Convention is called Caracas,” the official added.

Convention on Diplomatic Asylum

The Convention on Diplomatic Asylum or the Caracas Convention was signed by the member countries of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Caracas and entered into force on December 29, 1954.

The first article of the Convention dictates that the territorial State is obliged to respect the decisions of the diplomatic headquarters located in that country, in this case Argentina.

“Asylum granted in legations, warships, military camps or aircraft to persons persecuted for political reasons or crimes shall be respected by the territorial State in accordance with the provisions of this Convention,” reads Article 1.

Opponents granted asylum in the Argentine Embassy

Diana Mondino also referred to the group of opponents who have been sheltered in the Argentine Embassy in Caracas since March 2024.

“They are refugees because the Nicolás Maduro regime has not allowed them to leave the country. This is an outrage,” said the Argentine foreign minister.

He also said that the current situation of the Argentine representatives and the opposition asylum seekers is “complex” because on the morning of July 29, several countries, including Argentina, signed a statement to demand transparency in the results of the presidential election in Venezuela.

“After we expressed our concern about what is happening in Venezuela, (the government of Nicolás Maduro) expelled the diplomats and did not authorize the refugees we have to leave,” the official added.

Mondino insisted that Venezuelan opponents have the right to remain in the Argentine Embassy and, if they have to leave the premises, the Venezuelan authorities have the obligation to let them leave the country in the company of Argentine diplomats.

The Argentine foreign minister’s statements were issued after opposition leader María Corina Machado warned of the presence of hooded men allegedly armed outside the Argentine embassy in Caracas.

“At the doors of the Argentine Embassy there are armed officers and presumably members of the Bolivarian National Police (PNB). I would like to ask journalists to go there, as well as the residents of Las Mercedes to accompany those who are sheltered there,” Machado urged in a press conference from the headquarters of the command in Bejucal, Caracas.

Photo: EFE

More than four months in isolation

Since March 26, six opposition leaders have been sheltering in the Argentine Embassy in Caracas. This is after the government of Nicolás Maduro issued arrest warrants against them.

The activists are members of the Vente Venezuela party, led by María Corina Machado. The opposition party itself identified them as: Magalli Meda, Machado’s campaign manager; Pedro Urruchurtu, Vente’s coordinator of International Affairs; and Claudia Macero, Communications coordinator. Also present were Humberto Villalobos, head of elections for the Comando con Vzla and Omar González, head of the command in Anzoátegui. Additionally, there is Fernando Martínez Motolla, advisor to the Plataforma Unitaria.

“With the support of the inviolability enshrined in the Vienna Convention, to which both nations, Argentina and Venezuela, are signatories, Argentina has welcomed opposition political leaders at the official residence of the Argentine embassy in Caracas,” Argentina said in a statement, a day after receiving the activists at its headquarters in Caracas.

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