Briefing

Freddy Guevara Arbitrarily Detained, Koki Still at Large

SEBIN officers arbitrarily detained Voluntad Popular (VP) national coordinator Freddy Guevara and he’s been missing since Monday. Fabiana Rosales, Juan Guaidó’s wife, reported on Twitter that officers broke into their building looking for Guaidó.

Naky Soto
  • SEBIN officers arbitrarily detained Voluntad Popular (VP) national coordinator Freddy Guevara and he’s been missing since Monday. 
    • Guevara got asylum in the Chilean Embassy for three years and was “pardoned” on August, 31st, 2020. 
    • Before he was taken, the politician went live on Instagram saying he knew the risks of staying in Venezuela but was sure he had made the right decision.
    • Later, ANC-imposed prosecutor general  Tarek William Saab reported that he was detained because of “his ties to extreme and paramilitary groups associated with the Colombian government.” 
    • He announced that he’ll be charged with association to commit crimes, treason and threatening constitutional order. 
    • El Koki is still in the streets. 
  • Fabiana Rosales, Juan Guaidó’s wife, reported on Twitter that officers broke into their building looking for Guaidó. 
    • They surrounded his vehicle and threatened with weapons but Guaidó wasn’t detained. 
    • The images taken by neighbors and journalists covering the news confirmed the officers were armed and left the building because of the citizens protesting against it. 
    • Detaining Freddy Guevara and threatening Guaidó were condemned by NGOs and governments all across the world. 
  • U.S. Ambassador James Story said that what happened today isn’t “compatible with minimal conditions for a dialogue to solve the Venezuelan crisis.” 
    • The U.S. exhorted the international community to denounce Freddy Guevara’s detention and demanded the release of all political prisoners, said acting deputy secretary for the Western Hemisphere Julie Chung.
  • Maduro was on TV, broadcasting a meeting with his prêt-à-porter opposition, made up by politicians imposed by the TSJ as authorities of opposition parties, like Luis Parra and José Brito. These questionable men are part of an alleged commission for dialogue, peace and reconciliation. 
  • Maduro established conditions for the negotiation in Mexico with the real opposition: the U.S. lifting all sanctions, recognizing the authority and legitimacy of public powers and that all sectors “renounce committing violent plans.” That’s how Maduro made it clear that Freddy Guevara is a hostage and that’s how he conditions the negotiation table where Norway has been involved.
  • Carlos Ocariz proposed that the opposition agrees “urgently” on who will be the political leaders. 
    • Américo de Grazia, the candidate for Bolívar governor, asked those who represent the MUD to call for primaries or another method that allows for cohesion among the opposition. 
    • Deputy José Manuel Olivares assured that he won’t be a candidate in November: “I won’t do anything outside the Unidad.”
  • CNE rector Roberto Picón said the detention of Freddy Guevara and FundaRedes activists were actions that “don’t contribute to recovering institutionality” but “worsen the climate of fear, persecution, and violence.” 
    • He said that these actions contribute to creating abstention.
  • Dr. Julio Castro said that Venezuela would enter the COVAX mechanism in July, which means the doses might be arriving around August or September. 
    • Castro said that sectors close to the health sector are working on getting vaccines through other ways other than COVAX.
  • The U.S. Treasury Department authorized some exports and re-exports of GLP to Venezuela, which had been forbidden by the Trump administration. The license allows gas shipments in transactions involving the regime and PDVSA. 
  • According to Bloomberg, Citi Bank is planning to leave the country and sell their remaining business, putting an end to more than a century of operations in Venezuela. 
    • They apparently agreed to sell the unit to the Banco Nacional de Crédito and obtained the approval of regulatory authorities in Venezuela. 
  • The Brazilian government announced that they’d be giving 1.2 million dollars to the municipalities that are receiving more Venezuelan migrants. 
  • The EU talked about the protests in Cuba and called on Díaz Canel’s regime to allow the protests and listen to the people. 
  • Cuban dictator Miguel Díaz-Canel lied and blamed the sanctions for all of the island’s problems. President Joe Biden expressed his support for the Cuban people and said the protests were “a call for freedom.” The White House denied that the sanctions worsened the crisis and assured that he’s evaluating how to help the Cuban people directly.

 

political persecution Political prisoners

Naky Soto

Naky gets called Naibet at home and at the bank. She coordinates training programs for an NGO. She collects moments and turns them into words. She has more stories than freckles.

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