57-year-old Venezuelan human rights activist Rocío San Miguel was arrested by the Venezuelan authorities on Friday and has been missing since then. International news agencies reported this on Tuesday. San Miguel is suspected of being involved in a plot to assassinate Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Maduro’s party, the socialist Movimiento Quinta República, has been in power since 1998 and is known for suppressing critical voices, opposition parties and human rights organizations.
San Miguel is a well-known human rights activist in Venezuela and is the head of the non-governmental organization Control Ciudadano, which focuses on the defense of human rights, security and oversight of the armed forces. Four days after her arrest, no one knows where she is. Her adult daughter and ex-husband are also missing, as are her two brothers. According to the family’s lawyer, San Miguel and her daughter were last seen at Simón Bolívar International Airport, near the Venezuelan capital Caracas.
Plot to assassinate president
Prior to the disappearance, an arrest warrant was issued for San Miguel, which her lawyer is said to have been unaware of. According to Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab, also an ally of Maduro, San Miguel is involved in a plot called White Bracelet. The plot allegedly aims to assassinate Maduro and other high-ranking officials and attack military units in the western city of San Cristóbal.
A few weeks ago, 36 other critics of Maduro’s government were suddenly detained on the same charges. The arrests took place in the run-up to the Venezuelan presidential elections, which will be held in the second half of 2024. The arrests have raised concerns among Venezuelan human rights organizations, which say there is increasingly less room for civil liberties in Venezuela.
In October, a presidential election agreement, the Barbados Deal, was signed in Barbados by the government and opposition parties. Part of these agreements is that all candidates will be able to move freely and safely throughout the country and that international observers will be present at the polls. But according to various human rights organizations, the agreements are not or hardly being complied with. For example, the main opposition candidate, María Corina Machado, is prevented from standing as a candidate. Members of her party are also accused of plotting against Maduro.