Venezuela Update – ICC investigation & more –27 April 2023

th of April: 2023

On Friday the 21st, over 8,900 victims of crimes against humanity in Venezuela were interviewed by the International Criminal Court (or ICC), with most of them requesting the resumption of the investigation into the country.

The victims consider the court as the only means to achieve compensation or reparations to the harm suffered due to the Venezuelan state’s lack of effective justice.

The ICC will make a decision in the coming weeks on whether or not to continue the investigation in Venezuela.

rights abuses in Venezuela in: 2021

But the ICC is not the only one concerned about the current situation in Venezuela.

On Tuesday the 25th, an International Conference on the Political Process in Venezuela was held in Bogotá, without the presence of the Maduro regime or members of the opposition.

During the conference, Colombian President Gustavo Petro called for the democratic reconstruction of Latin America and the establishment of a schedule for resolving the Venezuelan electoral problem.

The attendees reached a consensus to reintegrate Venezuela into the Inter-American System of Human Rights and the implementation of a single trust fund for social investment.

Despite their absence, in a statement, the Venezuelan government emphasized the need to lift all US sanctions against the country, return assets belonging to Venezuela, and release Álex Saab, a suspected frontman for Maduro who is detained in the United States.

On Monday the 27th, as stated by Alvaro Leyva, the Colombian Foreign Minister, in an interview, Guaido attempted to sneak in the international conference. He also mentioned that Guaido was not invited to the conference, adding that "only invited countries will participate in this dialogue."

In: 2019

Several political leaders, including Delsa Solórzano and María Corina Machado, expressed solidarity with Guaidó and condemned the persecution he is facing.

In electoral news, on Thursday the 20th, Jesús María Casal, the president of the National Primary Commission, declared that the opposition would not stop the primaries scheduled for the 22nd of October, despite the Council of National Electoral's (or CNE) refusal to meet their demands.

Casal requested the Ministry of Education to allow the use of schools as voting centers since the CNE would not participate in the logistical and technical organization.

On Tuesday the 18th, the CNE rejected Platform Unitaria's request to eliminate the use of fingerprint capture machines in the primaries and stated that the biometric authentication process is an integral part of the voting system, necessary to ensure transparency and security in the opposition primaries.

Speaking of the Primary Commission, on Thursday the 20th, the political party Vente Venezuela's youth wing submitted 10,000 signatures advocating for manual voting, participation of all Venezuelans living abroad, and no interference from the CNE to the Primary Commission.

Carlos Fernández, the national coordinator of Vente Joven, stated that "the country has spoken" and that these 10,000 young people want to vote manually and ensure that their identity and that of millions of Venezuelans will not be compromised.

Fernández emphasized that if the Primary Commission decides to conduct primaries with the CNE's involvement, they will need to justify to the country why they disregarded the demands of millions and why individuals must use the regime's tools to participate in an opposition-led process.

Accident or attack?

On Tuesday the 25th, an explosion in a house located in the Pueblo Viejo urbanization in Anzoátegui state, resulted in two fatalities and three injuries.

Tarek William Saab, the attorney general, confirmed that the house belonged to Hernán Ernesto Guevara Pastran, a former PDVSA official and oil businessman who was involved in a corruption case a few years ago. But, he wasn't at the house when the explosion occurred.

While authorities have suggested that a gas leak caused the explosion, unofficial reports suggest that it might have been a C4 attack.

The 3rd Prosecutor's Office of the Anzoátegui state is leading the investigations, but the actual cause of the explosion remains unknown.

Moving on, on Thursday the 20th, the National Assembly of Venezuela approved the Organic Law of Asset Forfeiture. The law will establish ways to identify, locate, and recover assets derived from illicit activities.

Diosdado Cabello, the President of the Permanent Committee on Domestic Policy, emphasized the importance of this law so that the State can immediately act in the recovery of assets and prevent them from losing their usefulness.

According to Cabello, the person accused of these crimes shall have all the mechanisms provided by Venezuelan legislation at their disposal for appeal. This civil procedure operates independently of the criminal process

The massive arrest of people for corruption has left one dead.

On Thursday the 20th, Leoner Azuaje Urrea, president of Cartones de Venezuela (or CARTOVEN), who was under regime custody for alleged corruption, passed away

Chavista attorney general Tarek William Saab announced his death, which was declared a suicide. However, national prosecutors were appointed to investigate the circumstances of his death.

He died two days after his arrest was announced for an alleged corruption scheme.

According to Saab, in his cell, letters were found that Azuaje wrote to his family. In them, he mentioned his decision "to attempt against his life, while at the same time acknowledging the mistake he made."

Following this news, on Friday the 21st, Rosalía Urrea, Azuaje's mother, requested protection from Maduro for herself, her daughter, and Azuaje's wife.

In a video posted on social media, Urrea expressed her fear after what happened to her son and requested protection for her family. She explained that on the 14th of April, state security forces searched her son's apartment and arrested him without any explanation. The family had no information for six days until they were finally notified of Azuaje's death.

In other news, on Friday the 21st, the Zulia State Police Force officials arrested a man who posed as an agent and defrauded people by promising to expedite passport and US visa procedures and charging $25,000 dollars for his services.

According to Roberto Antonio Alfaro Molinarez, the director-general of the police force, forty-one-year-old José Morrillo Parra used social media to identify his targets.

After receiving several complaints, police initiated an investigation that resulted in the arrest of the fraudster. The accused reportedly convinced victims that he had connections with officials from the Administrative Service of Identification, Migration, and Foreigners (or Saime) and the National Institute of Land Transportation and could obtain US visa approvals.

In sports, on Thursday the 20th, the Venezuelan under-seventeen soccer team achieved qualification for the Under-seventeen World Cup for the second time in its history by defeating Paraguay 2-0 in the final hexagonal of the Under-seventeen South American Championship. David Martinez and Mayken Gonzalez scored the goals.

The Vinotinto reached six points in the final hexagonal and secured the last of the four available spots for the next World Cup in this category.

In: 2013

Good news! On Monday the 24th, King Felipe VI of Spain awarded the Cervantes Prize, the highest literary award in the Spanish language, to Rafael Cadenas, a ninety-two-year-old Venezuelan writer and poet, making him the first Venezuelan to receive the award.

The jury recognized Cadenas vast literary work, which includes poetry, essays, and translations, and “his ability to push the creative possibilities of the Spanish language to its limits.”

The Cervantes Prize, which has been awarded to writers such as Octavio Paz, Carlos Fuentes, and Mario Vargas Llosa in the past, is endowed with 125,000 euros

Aaaand that’s it for this week. Remember you can buy our 100% unbleached organic cotton, grown and ginned in Texas, spun and knit in the Carolinas, sewn and printed in Missouri t-shirts. The most environmentally friendly new t-shirt you’ll own. To get one, check the link in the show notes!

¡Hasta la próxima!