Two months have passed since the days in which, in addition to maximum attention from the press, there were exhaustive raids and strong security operations. The guests have already seen an Argentina with three economy ministers and an accumulated inflation in that period of almost 13%.
Today, the panorama is calmer. “We get rid of journalists,” says César Giuggioloni, owner of the hotel, laughing.
Some uniformed police officers guard the access street and others in civilian clothes walk nearby or spend long hours in the hotel lobby. On the second and third floors live the 14 Venezuelans and the 5 Iranians who landed at the Ezeiza airport on June 6.
“They treat us very well,” says one of them, while talking in one of the corridors with the cleaning staff and collaborating with the tasks. “We’re comfortable,” she says. He further says that he is not allowed to tell his name to the press.
“They are all very respectful, very professional. We haven’t had any problems”, explains Giuggioloni. The commercial complex in which the Hotel Plaza Central is located includes gastronomic and commercial premises. «I see them wandering around here, they make some outings. They go out for coffee and shop.” told the television.
One of the Venezuelans confirms that they enjoy walks in the afternoon and he is even encouraged to suggest that some prices “seem cheap”. He also affirms that they closely followed the recent declarations of referents of the Government of his country on the situation of the plane.
*Also read: Venezuelan military accused of murder of five Brazilian miners in Amazonas
Venezuela presses to recover the plane
“We demand that the superplane hijacked in Argentina be returned,” President Nicolás Maduro effusively said. He followed that line with his right hand man, Diosdado Cabello, and charged Alberto Fernández with responsibility. “He has lukewarm attitudes,” he sentenced.
The most striking statement was, without a doubt, that of deputy Pedro Carreño, who referred to the Argentine president as “the empire’s wimp”, “puppet”, “crawling” or “jalabolas”, in the middle of the National Assembly. And an even more striking situation: Carreño was received by the Argentine ambassador Oscar Laborde a couple of days later.
Meanwhile, the passengers on the Venezuelan-Iranian plane avoid getting involved in diplomatic issues. “We listen to it, of course, but I prefer not to talk about it,” says one of those staying on the third floor.
After two months in the hotel, several questions arise: Who pays for the 19 rooms? The hotel owner confirms that it is the Venezuelan airline and does so by transfer or credit card. “According to what the manager told me, that company is billed. And they pay us in advance, three or four days in advance and thus they renew the stay”, he completes.
*Also read: Argentine federal judge orders seizure of Emtrasur plane despite Maduro’s claims
