The Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, announced that the Government of Venezuela has already confirmed the identity and accusations of the two citizens Basques detained in this country for alleged espionage as part of a plot to destabilize the government of Nicolas Maduro.
In an interview on Catalunya Ràdio, collected by Europa Press, the head of Spanish diplomacy clarified that at the end of last week had official confirmation of the arrest and accusations of the two Spanish citizens, as he had previously requested from his Venezuelan counterpart, Yván Gil.
From that moment on, as Albares himself announced, “the diplomatic and consular protection» by José María Basoa Valdovinos and Andrés Martínez Adasme, “so that these two compatriots unjustly detained in Venezuela they can come back “where they should always be, that is, with their families.”
Asked about their positions, the Minister of Foreign Affairs avoided answering, arguing that his ministry should “work peacefully” and that detainees “also have the right to privacy.” Of course, he reiterated that Basque citizens “have nothing to do” with “any Spanish public body, and even less with the CNI.”
In this sense, when he learned the news, he conveyed it to the families of the two Spaniards, as well as to the Lehendakari, Imanol Pradales. Everyone is informed of every detail and it now remains to exercise “without doubt” consular and diplomatic protection so that they are “back as soon as possible”.
Albares recalled that since he has been minister, “it is not the first time” that he has found himself confronted with a situation like this, in which Spanish citizens are unjustly detained abroad. You mentioned the case of the humanitarian worker detained at Israel Juana Ruizand that of Santiago Sánchez Cogedor and Ana Baneirawho were detained in Iran.
“In all of these cases, everything was resolved happily and I am certainly I will spare no effort so that the situation is exactly the same as quickly as possible”, concluded the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
