Portuguese government demands prompt release of Luso-Venezuelan opposition leader Williams Dávila

Lisbon, Aug 9 (EFE).- The Government of Portugal, led by the conservative Luís Montenegro, demanded this Friday the “immediate and unconditional release” opposition leader Williams Dávila Barrios, arrested on Thursday during a demonstration in the capital of Venezuela.

This was announced by the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on its profile on the social network X, where it wrote that Dávila, “with Portuguese nationality, was “arbitrarily detained and in poor health”.

The ministry also called for the release of other detained political opponents, “guaranteeing freedom of political demonstration and democratic transparency, in close contact with the States of the region and with the partners of the European Union.”

Former opposition member of the Venezuelan Parliament, Williams Dávila, was arrested on Thursday night after participating in a demonstration in Caracas in favor of the release of those he considers political prisoners, criminal lawyer and human rights defender Rafael Narváez told EFE today.

The lawyer indicated that, so far, It is unknown in which detention center the anti-Chavez former deputy is being helda member of the Democratic Action Party (AD), and recalled that he underwent heart surgery last November.

The Venezuelan Electoral College (CNE) declared President Nicolás Maduro the winner of the presidential elections on July 28, with more than 51% of the votes, over his main opponent Edmundo González Urrutia, of the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD).

Twelve days after the elections were held, the CNE has not published the minutes certifying Maduro’s victory, as required by law, and has left the process of “certifying” the official result in the hands of the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ), at the request of the president.

The victory is questioned by the Venezuelan opposition and by a sector of the international community.

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