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South Florida lawmakers condemn Maduro's 'inhumane' treatment of opposition members in embassy

FILE - Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro addresses government loyalists gathered at the presidential palace in support of his reelection one month after the presidential vote, in Caracas, Venezuela, Aug. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)
Ariana Cubillos/AP
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AP
FILE - Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro addresses government loyalists gathered at the presidential palace in support of his reelection one month after the presidential vote, in Caracas, Venezuela, Aug. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)

Several South Florida members of Congress on Thursday condemned the authoritarian regime of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro for its inhumane treatment of six opposition members who have been sheltering for months in the Argentine diplomatic compound in the capital, Caracas.

Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar, a Miami Republican, and about dozen other congressional lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are demanding the six opposition members be allowed to leave the country.

“The Maduro regime’s ongoing siege of the Argentine Embassy in Venezuela is a blatant violation of the Vienna Conventions,” say the lawmakers’ in a statement to media. “This political persecution of the six members of [opposition leader] María Corina Machado’s team who have been at the Embassy for over eight months must end."

They say the Maduro regime has for weeks cut off access to water and electricity at the Embassy, “an inhumane tactic which deserves clear repudiation from the international community.”

“We unequivocally condemn these actions and call for the safe passage of these individuals to Argentina or another destination of their choosing. Maduro and his accomplices must be held accountable for their crimes,” say the lawmakers.

READ MORE: UN human rights watchdog opens investigation into Venezuela presidential election

Joining Salazar were U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, U.S. Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart, R-Miami, U.S. Rep. Carlos Giménez, R-Miami, along with others from Texas, California and New York.

Argentine Foreign Minister Gerardo Werhein said last week that the Venezuelan government is subjecting the six opposition members to a “strategy of physical exhaustion” and “psychological terror” through prolonged harassment. The four men and two women have lived at the ambassador’s residence since March to avoid arrest.

The group living at the ambassador’s home includes the opposition group's campaign manager and communications director.

The government of Argentine President Javier Milei allowed them into the compound after authorities loyal to the ruling party issued warrants for their arrest, accusing them of promoting alleged acts of violence to destabilize the country.

In August, Brazil accepted Argentina’s request to guard the diplomatic compound in Caracas after Maduro’s government expelled its diplomats following Venezuela’s July presidential election. The vote’s disputed results, which Venezuelan electoral authorities claimed favor Maduro, prompted Milei to declare that he would not recognize “another fraud.” That drew the anger of Maduro and his allies.

But a month later, Venezuela revoked Brazil’s authorization to guard the facility, alleging it had evidence of the use of the premises “for the planning of terrorist activities and assassination attempts.”

Brazil and Argentina have rejected those accusations.

Venezuela’s protracted political crisis deepened after the July 28 presidential election. The country’s National Electoral Council, which is stacked with Maduro loyalists, declared him the election winner hours after polls closed. But unlike previous presidential elections, electoral authorities did not provide detailed vote counts.

Meanwhile, the opposition, led by Machado, collected tally sheets from 80% of the nation’s electronic voting machines, posted them online and said the voting records showed that the faction’s candidate, Edmundo González, had won the election with twice as many votes as Maduro.

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