Spain Demands Answers: Venezuela Urged to Reveal Fate of Detained Citizens
Spain Demands Confirmation of Detained Citizens’ Identity from Venezuela
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain, José Manuel Albares, has requested that his Venezuelan counterpart, Yván Gil, confirm the identity of two detained Spanish citizens, as required by the Vienna Convention. Albares also asked for information on their current location and the charges against them.
Albares conveyed these demands to the chargé d’affaires of the Venezuelan embassy in Madrid during a meeting on Tuesday morning. A verbal note was also sent to the Spanish embassy in Caracas and the Venezuelan embassy in Madrid.
Speaking to journalists in the Spanish Parliament, Albares emphasized that the two detainees, Andrés Martínez Adasme and José María Basoa Valdovinos, have no connection with public institutions in Spain, including the Spanish National Intelligence Center (CNI).
The Venezuelan government has accused the two men, aged 32 and 35, of involvement in an alleged operation to commit “terrorist” acts, including the assassination of President Nicolás Maduro.
Albares assured that Spain will exercise diplomatic and consular protection for the detainees, as is standard practice for all Spanish citizens imprisoned abroad.
The Spanish consulate in Caracas is in constant contact with the families of the two detainees, according to Albares.
In a letter to EU High Representative Josep Borrell, Albares requested that the next EU Council of Ministers discuss the situation in Venezuela.