- The Venezuelan government accuses the two Spanish citizens of planning destabilizing acts in the country
The Spanish Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, announced on October 4 that the Venezuelan government informed him through a verbal note that Spain can now exercise consular protection for the two Spaniards detained in September.
The Spaniards detained in the country are accused of planning an alleged destabilizing operation against the government of Nicolás Maduro.
Albares pointed out that the Spanish government had been demanding for some time to be able to exercise this protection of the two Spanish citizens.
Venezuela announced the arrest of these two Spaniards in the middle of a escalation of tension with Spain after the arrival in Madrid of opposition leader Edmundo González on September 8, to request asylum after denouncing electoral fraud in the presidential elections on July 28.
In relation to Venezuela, Albares confirmed that González has already formally requested his asylum request in Spain and assured that if he had not arrived in Madrid “he would be detained in Venezuela today.”
Arrest of the Spanish in Venezuela
The Venezuelan Minister of the Interior, Diosdado Cabello, reported on September 14 about the arrest of the two Spaniards in the state of Amazonas for allegedly having links with the Spanish intelligence service and being involved in an operation to carry out “terrorist” acts. , among them “assassinating Nicolás Maduro and Vice President Delcy Rodríguez.”
Nevertheless, Spain denied these assertions and confirmed that the detainees are not part of the National Intelligence Center or any other state agency.
Since then, the Spanish authorities asked the Maduro government to have access to the two detainees to verify their identities and nationality and to know what exactly they were accused of, in addition to allowing them to receive all the necessary assistance.
The detainees, identified as Andrés Martínez Adasme and José María Basoa Valdovinos, are natives of the Basque town of Bilbao and according to their relatives they were tourists in Venezuela.
In addition to the two Spaniards, three American citizens and a Czech were also arrested, who were accused of the same crimes.
Confirmation of the identity of the detainees
On September 30, Albares reported that they had already confirmed identity and charges against the detained Spaniards.
In an interview on Catalunya Radio, the head of Spanish diplomacy indicated that efforts were being made to exercise diplomatic and consular protection for Basoa Valdovinos and Martínez Adasme so that they could return to Spain.
The minister avoided answering what charges both men are accused of and only limited himself to clarifying that his Ministry must “work calmly” and that the detainees “have the right to privacy.”
For her part, the delegate of the Spanish government in the Basque Country Marisol Garmendia also stated that efforts to achieve the release of both citizens are carried out with absolute discretion.
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2024-10-05 06:56:38