Damage is seen at the residence of Roberto Marrero, chief of staff to opposition leader Juan Guaido, after he was detained by Venezuelan intelligence agents, according to legislators, in Caracas, Venezuela March 21, 2019. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado
Venezuelan intelligence police arrested opposition leader Juan Guaido’s chief of staff, the latest move in President Nicolas Maduro’s effort to retain control of the erstwhile petro giant and a provocation to the U.S. Guaido said early Thursday that the intelligence agency known as Sebin had raided the houses of aide Roberto Marrero and congressman Sergio Vergara, who belongs to Guaido’s Popular Will party.
"We don’t know where he’s been taken,” Guaido said of Marrero in comments posted on Twitter. "He needs to be released immediately.”
Guaido, who is head of the National Assembly, is recognized as the legitimate leader of Venezuela by the U.S., Brazil, and dozens of other countries, while Maduro still commands the loyalty of much of Venezuela’s government apparatus and military, as well as support from other nations including Russia and Turkey.
The arrest of Marrero is a challenge to the U.S.’s support for Guaido. The administration of Donald Trump, which has withdrawn its diplomats from Caracas, has placed increasingly strong sanctions on Venezuela and regime officials, but has stopped short of direct action to topple Maduro. It is unclear what leverage it retains.
American Warning
On Thursday morning, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the administration condemned the raid.
"We call for his immediate release,” he said on Twitter. "We will hold accountable those involved.”
Sebin, whose officers cruise the streets and roads in blacked-out vehicles, is one of Maduro’s main weapons against his political opponents. The agency operates from an imposing headquarters that includes a much-feared prison.
On Thursday, scores of Sebin men with their faces covered entered the Caracas home of Vergara around 2 a.m., the lawmaker said in a video recorded after the incident. They demanded the whereabouts of Marrero, who lives next door.
While Vergara said that he told the men they were violating his congressional immunity and following unconstitutional orders, they held him for more than two hours and eventually entered the home of Marrero. They also detained Vergara’s driver.
Planted Guns
Marrero told Vergara as he was being taken away that the intelligence police were planting two rifles and a grenade in his home to accuse him of holding the weapons, according to Vergara’s account.
Maduro’s regime has been accused of human-rights violations, including extrajudicial killings, and has held hundreds of political prisoners and detained journalists.
Michelle Bachelet, high commissioner for human rights at the United Nations, said in a report on Wednesday that she’s "deeply concerned by the magnitude and gravity of the human rights impact of the current crisis.” She cited the reports of abuses by security forces and pro-government armed groups including "excessive use of force, killings, arbitrary detentions, torture and ill-treatment in detention, and threats and intimidation.”
Bachelet is awaiting a full report from a team that’s been on the ground for more than a week to review the situation in Venezuela.
(Updates with comment from Guaido in third paragraph.)
