US 'deeply concerned' about Venezuela's arrest of activist accused of treason

By Laura Gamba

BOGOTA, Colombia (AA) - The United States said on Tuesday that it is "deeply concerned" about the detention of Venezuelan activist Rocio San Miguel and warned that the administration of President Joe Biden is watching the situation "very closely."

"We are aware of reports that Rocio San Miguel, and I think a couple of members of her family, now have been taken into custody. We're deeply concerned about that," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters at a White House briefing.

San Miguel, an activist and expert on military issues, who was captured at an airport near the capital Caracas on Friday when she was preparing to leave Venezuela with her family, will be charged with treason, terrorism, and conspiracy under an investigation into the “White Bracelet” plot, said Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab.

White Bracelet is the name of a plot to kill President Nicolas Maduro that the Venezuelan government alleged in January.

San Miguel's defense team said that several of her relatives – including her husband and daughter – had been the victims of "forced disappearances."

“They don't tell us which police agency detained her or which court she is under, nor which prosecutor is directing that investigation,” said Juan Gonzalez Taguaruco, one of her defense lawyers. “We also don't know the place of detention, we have visited some detention centers and none of them give us a positive answer.”

Last year, the Maduro government reached agreements with the US and the Venezuelan opposition to hold free and fair presidential elections in 2024. The Biden administration then suspended some sanctions on oil and gas, but due to the failure to fulfill commitments, it reimposed sanctions at the end of January and has warned that it will allow oil and gas licenses that had been granted in Venezuela to expire on April 18.

Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has been banned from participating in the elections, and other opposition figures have been arrested over the alleged White Bracelet plot.

In response to Kirby’s remarks, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil accused the US of “plotting to murder Maduro, Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino, and Tachira State Governor Freddy Bernal.”

“The US government supports terrorists who have confessed their crimes and the orders they received to attack our people. They are complicit in (terrorism) and interventionist actions against Venezuela,” Gil wrote on X.​​​​​​​