The Government of President Gabriel Boric expressed this Thursday its “firm condemnation” of the “arbitrary” detention of Venezuelan opponents and assured that the measure “seriously affects the holding of democratic, transparent and free presidential elections.”
In a statement, the Chilean Foreign Ministry said that the arrests “constitute an action contrary to the democratic spirit that must prevail in any electoral process” and “to the Barbados Agreements validated by the international community.”
“The Government of Chile joins the calls made by multilateral human rights bodies for Venezuela to end the harassment against political opponents,” La Moneda added.
The head of the Vente Venezuela (VV) party, Henry Alviárez, and the political secretary, former deputy Dignora Hernández, were arrested on Wednesday accused of a link with violent plans related to the elections on July 28, in which Nicolás Maduro will seek a third consecutive six-year term in power.
“World alert! The Maduro regime unleashes brutal repression against my campaign teams (…) These cowardly actions aim to close Venezuela’s path towards change and freedom in peace and democracy,” said former representative María Corina Machado, leader of Vente Venezuela and elected in primaries as the candidate of the opposition majority.
The Venezuelan Prosecutor’s Office also requested the arrest of the party’s communications chief, Claudia Macero, and former deputy Omar González Moren, among other leaders.