CARACAS, Venezuela: Venezuela’s foreign minister said on Thursday that he had decided to “suspend the activities” of the UN rights office in the country and ordered its staff to leave within 72 hours.
The move comes two days after the UN agency expressed “deep concern” over X’s detention of prominent rights activist Rocio San Miguel and called for her “immediate release”.
San Miguel, 57, was arrested last Friday in the immigration area of Caracas airport that led to international outrage.
Prosecutors charged her with “treason” and “terrorism” for her alleged role in the latest alleged plot to assassinate President Nicolás Maduro, which the government said was backed by the United States.
Foreign Minister Yvan Gil said the UN rights office had taken on an “inappropriate role” and had become “a private law firm for coup plotters and terrorists who have constantly conspired against the country”.
He said the decision would remain in place until the agency “publicly corrects before the international community their colonialist, offensive and violation of the United Nations Charter”.
“We regret this announcement and are evaluating the next steps,” said Ravina Shamdasani, a spokeswoman for the UN human rights office, which has been in Venezuela since 2019.
“Our guiding principle has been and remains to support and protect the human rights of the people of Venezuela.”
San Miguel’s detention comes in a fraught election year in which Maduro has already blocked his main opposition rival, prompting the United States to threaten to reimpose recently eased oil sanctions.
She was arrested along with several family members who have since been released on bail.
However, her ex-husband, a retired soldier, was also arrested and is accused of allegedly leaking “political and military secrets”.
The detention comes after Venezuelan authorities said in January they had uncovered five plots to assassinate Maduro, involving soldiers, rights activists and journalists.
Maduro frequently denounces plans to overthrow him, usually with the alleged involvement of the USA and the opposition.
San Miguel is the founder of an NGO called Citizen Control, which investigates security and military issues such as the number of civilians killed or abused by security forces.
It covered in detail the military’s involvement in illegal mining operations and the recent murder of women in the military.
The United States and the European Union have also expressed their deep concern over San Miguel’s arrest.
An independent fact-finding mission to Venezuela set up by the UN Human Rights Council – another body made up of 47 member states – on Tuesday condemned the “escalating” crackdown on dissidents in the country.
“These are not isolated incidents, but rather a series of events that appear to be part of a coordinated plan to silence critics and perceived opponents,” mission chairwoman Marta Valinas said in a statement Tuesday.
The wave of criticism angered Caracas and Attorney General Tarek William Saab, who condemned the “savage foreign campaign against the judicial system and the Venezuelan state.”
And Gil said Wednesday that if the UN office “cares so much about the human rights of Venezuelans,” it should work closely with the government.
He accused the agency of only thinking “on the side of the extreme right, only protecting people who have tried not only to subvert the constitutional order, but also to provoke large-scale violence in Venezuela.”
