The regime of Maduro stops the vice president of the Parliament of Venezuela

Édgar Zambrano has been arrested by secret service agents, after losing immunity for his support of the Guaidó plan

Agents of the Bolivarian Intelligence Service (Sebin) have arrested on Wednesday in Caracas the first vice president of the National Assembly, Edgar Zambrano. The opposition leader was stripped last week of parliamentary immunity after supporting the frustrated plan with which Juan Guaidó, leader of the Parliament recognized as interim president by more than 50 countries, freed Leopoldo López and tried to provoke a break in the military establishment.

Zambrano, who was arrested at the stroke of 7:00 pm (local time), recounted the operation of Nicolás Maduro’s secret service live on Twitter. “We alert all the people of Venezuela at this time 6.35 p.m., we are surrounded by the Sebin, we are inside our vehicle from the facilities of Acción Democrática [their party] in La Florida,” he wrote. Minutes later, he added: “We were surprised by the Sebin, and when they refused to leave our vehicle, they used a crane to forcefully move us directly to the Helicoide [seat of that body], and we Democrats are still fighting.”

The president of the National Constituent Assembly (ANC), Diosdado Cabello, confirmed the arrest during the broadcast of his program Con el malzo dando. “He was stopped by the Sebin commission, he called and sent messages, then he locked himself in the car saying that he was not going to move thinking that the Sebin was going to eat that story, so they put a crane to the car.” Also, Cabello He assured that Zambrano had $ 9,000 in cash with him and also pointed to three deputies “who participated actively in the coup,” implying that they could be the next detainees. “They believe that there will be no justice here. Here there will be justice, “he continued before assuring that the authorities will respect their rights.” These actions of justice are actions that moralize our people, “he said.

For its part, the US Embassy in Caracas called for the release of the vice president of Parliament and said that if this does not occur, “there will be consequences.” “The arbitrary detention of Deputy Edgar Zambrano by the oppressive security forces of Maduro in Venezuela is illegal and inexcusable, and Maduro and his accomplices are directly responsible for Zambrano’s security,” the embassy explained.

The arrest comes after the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ), controlled by Chavez, accused a dozen deputies of treason. All of them, like Guaidó, have lost their immunity and Zambrano was the first victim of this counter-offensive. The president of the Court, Maikel Moreno is precisely one of the Chavez high officials who, together with the defense minister, Vladimir Padrino, the commander of the Presidential Guard, Iván Fernández Dala, and the interior minister, Néstor Reverol, different sources they involved in the plan that was intended to provoke a rupture of the military establishment.

Hours earlier, Moreno had charged in a statement against what he considers an interference by the United States and its vice president, Mike Pence, in Venezuelan politics and in the work of the Supreme Court. “A new unilateral threat has been formulated to the Venezuelan judiciary, specifically to this Supreme Court of Justice, which is composed of 32 magistrates and magistrates, and in this regard, we denounce to the country and the international community that the United States of America is trying to with this ultimatum that the Venezuelan judicial power is put to the margin of the democracy and propitiates a coup d’etat “, it indicated in reference to the pressure exerted by the Administration of Donald Trump.

The context of geopolitical tension in which the Government and the opposition make their decisions is evident. Maduro himself used a speech broadcast on television to lash out against Washington and the authorities of neighboring Colombia. “There is an escalation of statements that could end in a military escalation on the border of these criminal forces of Colombia against Venezuela, everything is part of the plan of American imperialism,” he said. “I have ordered special precautionary measures at the border, maximum alert.”

Guaidó repudiated what happened with a call to the international community that supports his plan, called operation freedom, which aims to evict Maduro from power, start a transition process and end with a call for elections. “We warned the people of Venezuela and the international community: the regime kidnapped the first vice president of the National Assembly, Edgar Zambrano, they try to disintegrate the power that represents all Venezuelans, but they will not achieve it,” he warned.

The opposition does not formally comply with the judicial measures adopted by the Supreme Court because it does not recognize the legitimacy of that court. However, this detention shows that the Government and the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) continue to maintain control of the State’s resources.

With information from El País.