Venezuelans seek help of Brazil's Lula to free 'political prisoners'

 

Hundreds of Venezuelans marched on the Brazilian embassy in Caracas Wednesday to appeal for President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's help in securing the freedom of some 2,500 "political prisoners."

"Freedom, freedom!" chanted the group in a rare protest since a crackdown that claimed 27 lives following the July 28 presidential elections the opposition says it can prove incumbent strongman Nicolas Maduro had stolen.

"Lula, intercede for Venezuela," read one poster. Another urged: "Free all the political prisoners."

Of the 2,500 people the protesters claim are held in Venezuelan prisons for defying the regime, some 2,400 were arrested at spontaneous demonstrations in the days after election authorities declared Maduro the victor.

They include minors, according to rights groups.

The opposition says its candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia -- since granted asylum in Spain under threat of arrest in Venezuela -- was the legitimate election winner, and much of the international community has refused to accept Maduro's claim to a third six-year term.

Brazil and other countries have asked to see a full breakdown of the voting results.

'Slow-motion assassination'

Wednesday's protesters delivered to the embassy a letter addressed to Lula, who with Colombia's Gustavo Petro has been heading efforts to find a peaceful exit from the post-election crisis.

"We are telling him of the conditions in which our relatives are being held, all their human rights violated," said Diego Casanova, who had a family member detained in the election aftermath.

"They are all prisoners of conscience, none have committed a crime."

Organizer Andreina Baduel added: "Political prisoners are being subjected to a slow-motion assassination in Venezuela just for thinking differently."

Her father Raul Baduel was once an ally of Maduro's predecessor Hugo Chavez but was jailed after breaking with the regime, and died behind bars in 2021.

Lula, traditionally a leftist ally of Maduro, has increasingly seemed to be running out of patience, last month calling his regime "very unpleasant" and with an "authoritarian bias."

Last week, the two countries became embroiled in a spat after Venezuela revoked permission for Brazil to represent Argentina's diplomatic interests in the country.

Brazil insisted it would continue overseeing the Argentine embassy in Caracas, where six Venezuelan opposition officials have been sheltering for months.

Argentina was among seven Latin American countries whose diplomatic staff were asked to leave Caracas as Venezuela severed relations with nations critical of the election.