On the case of Rocío San Miguel and General Hernández Da Costa, among other political prisoners in Venezuela
B-9-2024-0182
on behalf of the Renew Group · Rapporteur: Dita Charanzová, Jordi Cañas, Petras Auštrevičius, José Ramón Bauzá Díaz, Fabio Massimo Castaldo, Olivier Chastel, Nicola Danti, Bernard Guetta, Svenja Hahn, Karin Karlsbro, Ilhan Kyuchyuk, Karen Melchior, Javier Nart, Dragoş Pîslaru, Frédérique Ries, María Soraya Rodríguez Ramos, Ramona Strugariu, Dragoş Tudorache, Hilde Vautmans
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Parliament's resolution on the case of Rocío San Miguel and General Hernández Da Costa, among other political prisoners in Venezuela, calls for their release and an end to repression.¶¶¶ It asks the International Criminal Court to include arbitrary detentions in its investigation into alleged crimes against humanity by the Maduro regime.¶ It calls on the VP/HR and the Council to increase sanctions on the regime, including on Nicolás Maduro and officials responsible for human rights violations.¶ It urges the EU and the international community to support a return to democracy in Venezuela, ensuring María Corina Machado can participate freely in elections.¶
Key points
- Parliament urges the Maduro regime to immediately and unconditionally release all arbitrarily detained political prisoners, including Rocío San Miguel and General Hernández Da Costa, and restore their full rights.¶
- It exhorts the regime to cease its policy of repression and attacks on civil society and the opposition.¶
- It calls on relevant authorities to investigate a connection between the murder of Ronald Ojeda and the Maduro regime.¶
- It calls on the International Criminal Court to include ongoing human rights violations in arbitrary detentions in its investigation into alleged crimes against humanity committed by the Maduro regime.¶
- It calls on the VP/HR and the Council to increase sanctions on the regime, including on individuals responsible for serious human rights violations, high-level officials, security force members, Supreme Tribunal of Justice members and Nicolás Maduro himself.¶
- It calls for the EU and the international community to intensify efforts to support a return to democracy in Venezuela, particularly in the context of elections, ensuring that María Corina Machado participates freely.¶
- It underlines that the regime's announcement of the electoral schedule and election date of 28 July 2024 is a farce that violates the Barbados Agreement and the Constitution of Venezuela.
Who is affected
- Rocío San Miguel, a lawyer and human rights activist kidnapped and sentenced on politically motivated grounds, detained in El Helicoide prison.¶
- General Hernández Da Costa, a political prisoner since 2018 suffering from medical ailments, forcibly transferred to El Rodeo 1 and denied medical treatment.¶
- Other political prisoners including Juan Carlos Marrufo, Colonel Oswaldo García Palomo and Lieutenant Colonel Igbert Marín Chaparro, forcibly transferred to Rodeo 1.¶
- Campaign coordinators of opposition candidate María Corina Machado — Juan Freites, Luis Camacaro, Guillermo Lopez and Emill Brandt — detained on political grounds with unknown whereabouts.¶
- The Maduro regime, the VP/HR, the Council, the International Criminal Court and the EU and international community, called on to act.¶¶¶
Figures and deadlines
- over 300 political prisoners in Venezuela¶
- 9 February 2024, date Rocío San Miguel was kidnapped and sentenced¶
- 2018, year General Hernández Da Costa became a political prisoner¶
- 19 February, date General Hernández Da Costa was forcibly transferred to El Rodeo 1
- 28 July 2024, election date announced by the regime¶