RTFri, 10 May 2019 20:20 UTC
© EFEThe Venezuelan deputy Américo De Grazia.
The Venezuelan Constituent National Assembly removed earlier parliamentary immunity from seven opposition lawmakers who took part in the recent failed coup in the country.
Edgar Jose Zambrano, Luis Florido, Henry Ramos Allup, Richard Blanco, Marianela Lopez, Simon Calzadilla and Americo de Grazia lost their immunity. The prosecution charges them with high treason, public conspiring for violating the law, inciting civil uprising, and power usurpation, among other crimes.
According to Reuters, citing three sources familiar with the matter,
Americo de Grazia entered Thursday the Italian embassy in Caracas.
"I thank Italy", De Grazia wrote on Twitter. However, the opposition lawmaker did not say he had taken refuge in the embassy.
Venezuela has been rocked by unrest since January when Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido proclaimed himself the country's interim president and was recognized by the United States and dozens of other nations.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro Maduro, recognized by China and Russia among numerous other countries, has accused the United States of seeking to overthrow his government and install Guaido in a bid to get hold of Venezuela's natural resources.
On 30 April, Guaido urged Venezuelan civilians and servicemen to take to the streets to help depose constitutionally-elected Maduro. In response, Maduro said that the commanders of all regions and zones of integral defence had reiterated their full loyalty to the people, constitution and homeland. The coup attempt turned violent and resulted in some 240 people being injured, according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Comment: Fox News
reports:
Mariela Magallanes is also inside the Italian embassy, while her colleague Richard Blanco has gone to the Argentina Embassy in Caracas.
Their moves echo those made by 1970s dissidents scrambling for protection under the flags of other countries during the previous era of Latin American dictatorships.
Blanco told local media that he went to the Argentina embassy after the arrest of Edgar Zambrano, the vice-president of the National Assembly.
Zambrano, 63, was leaving his Democratic Action Party's headquarters Wednesday when he was surprised by a commando unit from the feared SEBIN intelligence agency. The unit member surrounded his vehicle.
About 30 minutes later, the vehicle was towed away with Zambrano still inside.
It was the latest move in a protracted, increasingly murky struggle between the two camps vying for power and the support of the military.
Opposition leader Juan Guaido portrayed the arrest and the targeting of lawmakers as acts of desperation by a government whose leaders don't know who to trust.
A total of 29 National Assembly members, or 25% of parliamentarians who oppose the government, have been persecuted by the pro-Maduro supreme court, according to Guaidó.
Opposition activist Leopoldo López entered the home of the Spanish ambassador after he joined Guaido in the failed attempt to topple Maduro. López was detained for anti-government protests in 2014 and had been under house arrest for two years before he was freed.
On Thursday, Miguel Rodríguez Torres, a former spy chief who became a government critic, was also transferred by military police to a maximum-security cell at a Caracas military base, his political movement said. Rodríguez Torres was arrested a year ago.
El Periodico didn't hesitate to call it 'taking refuge". (Machine translation. Original
here)
The Venezuelan deputy Américo De Grazia takes refuge in the Italian embassy
He is accused of participating in the rebellion that culminated in the failed coup against Nicolás Maduro and intends to avoid his arrest
Venezuelan deputy Américo De Grazia, accused by Nicolás Maduro's government of being involved in last week's failed military uprising, took refuge in the Italian embassy to avoid being detained and displayed as a "trophy," the legislator said.
"I will not give pleasure to the narco-dictatorship that exhibits me as a trophy and uses me as a hostage, in exchange for condoning their crimes against humanity, human rights violations, corruption, drug trafficking and terrorism. I'm still in the fight, Venezuela is worth it and I appreciate Italy's welcome," said the opposition deputy in his Twitter account.
I will not like the #NarcoDictadura that shows me as a trophy and uses me as a hostage, in exchange for condoning their crimes against humanity, violation of human rights, corruption, drug trafficking and terrorism. I'm still in the fight. #VenezuelaValeLaPena . And I appreciate the welcome of ITALY.
- Americo De Grazia (@AmericoDeGrazia) May 9, 2019
De Grazia, 59 years old and legislator for the state of Bolívar (south), is one of the 10 opposition deputies recently accused by the Venezuelan government of being part of the military uprising on April 30, which was headed by the head of parliament, Juan Guaidó
Accuses the mafias
Last Tuesday, the chavista National Constituent Assembly (ANC), a body not recognized by many governments and made up only of government officials, revoked the parliamentary immunity after the Supreme Court pointed him out as one of those responsible for the rebellion.
From his seat in Parliament he has denounced the alleged incursion of Colombian paramilitaries into his state, which he accuses of controlling mafias that extract minerals illegally. "With this action I do not intend to be a hero, nor a martyr. I just want to be useful to my country," De Grazia said of his entry into the Italian embassy.
"To my family, and to my mother and my children, to give them some peace, I know all the limitations imposed on me, with this decision that I was forced to take," added the deputy, whose status is unknown. he has in the Italian embassy .
With this action I do not pretend to be a hero, nor a martyr. I just want to be USEFUL to my Country. To my family and to my mother and my children, give her some peace. I know of all the limitations that are imposed on me, with this decision that I was forced to take. I REITERATE my commitment to Vzla.
- Americo De Grazia (@AmericoDeGrazia) May 9, 2019
On the other hand, it is known that the deputy Mariela Magallanes, from the same party as De Grazia (La Causa R), took refuge in the residence of the Italian ambassador in Caracas to avoid being imprisoned. Likewise, Congressman Richard Blanco, of the Alianza Bravo Pueblo party, asked for protection as a guest at the Argentine embassy in Venezuela, reported his son, Richard Blanco, on the social network Instagram.
Comment: Fox News reports: El Periodico didn't hesitate to call it 'taking refuge". (Machine translation. Original here)