Venezuela: The Opposition Team’s Exit from Hiding
The five members of Maria Corina Machado’s team arrived “safe and sound” in the US after over a year in hiding.
HAVANA TIMES – Many questions remain unanswered regarding the departure from the Argentine embassy—and from Venezuela—of the five members of María Corina Machado’s team who had been taking refuge in the diplomatic headquarters for over a year to avoid arrest at the request of the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
On the one hand, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described it as a successful “rescue operation,” while opposition leader Maria Corina Machado called it “impeccable and epic.” On the other hand, some point to a negotiation, the terms of which remain unknown—specifically, what Maduro may have asked in return for allowing the refugees to leave the embassy, which had been under Brazilian custody.
Political scientist Maria Puerta Riera said it is particularly noteworthy that following the departure from Venezuelan territory on the night of Tuesday, May 6, of Magalli Meda, Claudia Macero, Omar Gonzalez, Pedro Urruchurtu, and Humberto Villalobos, neither Maduro nor any of his spokespeople offered an immediate version of events—not even the following day. She also noted that it is unclear how involved the United States was within Venezuelan territory.
The Minister of the Interior, Diosdado Cabello, now says that negotiations had been underway to release the opposition members who had taken refuge in the Argentine embassy in Caracas, thus rejecting statements by Marco Rubio and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado about a rescue operation. The details of such a negotiation are still undisclosed.
First published in Spanish by Efecto Cucuyo and translated and posted in English by Havana Times.