The dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro confirmed this Sunday the arrest of the renowned activist and human rights defender, Rocío San Miguel, president of the NGO Control Ciudadano. The news generated strong repudiation at the national and international level.
The regime’s attorney general, Tarek William Saab, noted that San Miguel was arrested for her alleged link to a conspiracy called “White Bracelet”, which, according to Chavismo, aimed to assassinate the Bolivarian leader.
The arrest occurred last Friday at the Maiquetía international airport, when San Miguel was preparing to take a flight with his daughter. Since then, his relatives have not known his whereabouts.
Amnesty International (AI) demanded the “immediate and unconditional” freedom of the activist and asked for respect for her rights and the precautionary measure of protection issued in her favor by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in 2012.
Several Venezuelan NGOs, such as Provea y Justicia, Encuentro y Perdón, also spoke out against the arbitrary detention of San Miguel and denounced the lack of information about his whereabouts.
The arrest of Rocío San Miguel is framed in a context of growing repression against civil society in Venezuela. The Maduro dictatorship has intensified the persecution and harassment of activists, opponents and human rights defenders in recent months.
San Miguel has been a critical voice of the Chavista regime for years. In 2018, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IDC) ruled in his favor, ordering the Venezuelan State to compensate her for her unjustified dismissal from the public administration in 2004.
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