Bernardo Arévalo indicated that a possible reception of political prisoners from Venezuela in Guatemala will depend on the process that takes place and will depend, of course, on the Venezuelan authorities.
Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo said on Thursday night, September 5, that he does not rule out the possibility that his country may receive political prisoners, as a measure to ease the political situation in Venezuela following the elections on July 28.
This was stated by Arévalo in an interview given to CNN where he pointed out that this proposal would be viable as long as the administration of Nicolás Maduro allows it.
“That is something that we would have to look at in the context of the political process that takes place. If that contributes to a democratic solution that manages to reestablish the sovereign vote of the people, we could consider it,” he said.
BREAKING NEWS | Guatemala is willing to accept Venezuelan political prisoners “if that contributes to a democratic solution that reestablishes the sovereign vote.”
“We could consider it,” said President Bernardo Arévalo. https://t.co/Gb5nWV4Xpr pic.twitter.com/OaCnd4qipn
— AlbertoRodNews (@AlbertoRodNews) September 6, 2024
That same day, he confirmed this Thursday, September 5th that his country is hosting “135 Nicaraguan brothers, freed political prisoners,” after the United States reported shortly before this “release.”
“Our country has shown its firm democratic conviction, which roundly rejects threats of authoritarian regression. Today we reaffirm that commitment and return the international solidarity that we have received so many times, welcoming 135 Nicaraguan brothers, freed political prisoners. Only in freedom, democracy, life and humanity flourish. Welcome, Nicaraguan brothers!” said Arévalo on the social network X.
The 135 Nicaraguans arrived in Guatemala “on a single flight” at around 6:20 in the morning, according to the Foreign Ministry of that country, which also indicated that there will be a press conference on the matter on Thursday afternoon.
Arévalo’s proposal adds to that made by the president of Panama, José Raúl Mulino, who Friday, August 9th He said he would maintain his proposal to provide “temporary political asylum” to President Nicolás Maduro in order to resolve the situation in Venezuela and in the event of a transition that would bring opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González Urrutia to power.
*Read also: Italy demands the release of Venezuelan political prisoners with Italian passports
Mulino said this in an interview with CNN, where he asserted that this is “the amount of sacrifice” that must be made to cooperate in a possible transition.
“If we have to offer our territory to build a bridge, to make the transition from Venezuela to a third country, I don’t think we can stay in Panama because it would be very difficult to sell it to the population,” he said.
The NGO Foro Penal reported the Wednesday, August 28 As of Monday 26th, there are 1,780 political prisoners in Venezuela, of which 1,581 were arrested during the post-election protests that began on Monday 29th.
According to the report provided by the Penal Forum, some 1,550 are men and 230 are women. In addition, it indicates that of the total number of political prisoners, 1,624 are civilians and 156 are military personnel; at the same time, it reports the arrest of 114 adolescents.
It is reported that since last week, 107 people were imprisoned and 149 were sentenced, as well as one person being released from prison and 1,631 people remain without any conviction.
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