The winners of the Sakharov Prize 2024, Edmundo González and María Corina Machado, participated this Tuesday in the event 'Venezuela, Memory and Justice', held at the European Parliament Office in Spain. He, seated in the auditorium; she, in a pre-recorded video from her hiding place. The focus of the meeting has been on the victims of the repression orchestrated by Maduro, especially before and after the presidential elections on July 28th.
The leaders of the Venezuelan opposition have once again called for European support "in favor of truth, justice, and democracy." They did so in the presence of Antonio López-Iztúriz and Jorge Martín Frías, Members of the European Parliament and members of the Subcommittee on Human Rights (DROI), who also discussed the role Europe should play in the collapse of the rule of law in Venezuela.
"The Venezuelan people's struggle to regain democracy will soon bear fruit. We need international organizations and democracies around the world to recognize, condemn, and penalize the crimes against humanity that this criminal regime commits inside and outside of Venezuela," declared González, the winner of the presidential elections. He also thanked "the solidarity received so far and the staunch determination of those who defend values and rights. Nevertheless, our call is to continue to do more every day... Let's stop the prolongation of this suffering," he urged.
Following González, Machado's video was played on the screens, where she reviewed the "tremendous humanitarian crisis" facing her country. She began by highlighting the over 900 political prisoners currently counted by the Foro Penal, approximately 100 of them from the party she leads, Vente Venezuela. The democratic leader recalled that many of these detainees hold dual nationality, including Spanish. She also pointed out that a significant number of detainees have not even been involved in politics, "such as Rafael Tudares, Edmundo González's son-in-law."
In her brief intervention, Machado thanked the European authorities listening and ended with an optimistic message: "Venezuelans continue to fight day by day, and we know that we are close to the change we long for."
"The European Parliament does not give up"
Next, the microphone in the room was passed to Antonio López-Iztúriz, a Member of the European Parliament for the Popular Party, who began by noting the absence of members of the PSOE. "I have never asked any Venezuelan opposition member where they come from [which party]... I will ask for credentials when democracy arrives, I thought... But right now, that is not secondary, but tertiary... This is a joint effort, not of individuals, but of groups," he expressed to indicate that he would have liked to see representatives from all Spanish political groups at the event.
"The European Parliament does not give up on its work and its overwhelming acceptance of resolutions, denouncing the corrupt, murderous, and torturous regime of Maduro," continued López-Iztúriz, who announced that he had filed a complaint in the European Parliament's Human Rights Committee regarding this matter.
"I would like the support of European institutions to be much greater, but it is not... I would like more results, they will come," he assured. He also criticized the attitude of the Sánchez government regarding the Venezuelan situation. "Sanctions? We have tried, yes: individual, not general. They are not for the Venezuelan people, but for the regime's leaders. But what happens? Then Delcy Rodríguez strolls through Barajas airport here and is welcomed by the Spanish government minister, violating European antennas," he criticized.
Edmundo González (center) with Members of the European Parliament Antonio López-Iztúriz (left) and Jorge Martín Frías (right).J.J GuillénEFE
López-Iztúriz concluded his speech by promising that the European Popular Party will continue to support the Venezuelan cause: "Do not worry, we, the Members of the European Parliament, will continue to receive you, work, and seek the best solutions in Venezuela and also here in Europe... The situation often leads to despair, I understand perfectly. I share, I suffer a lot from frustrations in my work in Brussels on this, but I will not give up... You will continue to have the door to my office open as always."
The event featured the intervention of Martina Rapido Ragozzino, a researcher for the Americas Division of Human Rights Watch. Rapido shared her organization's findings on repression in Venezuela, compiled in their most recent report 'Punished for seeking change: Murders, forced disappearances, and arbitrary detentions after the 2024 elections in Venezuela'. The investigation, as highlighted, shows "flagrant human rights violations".
The speakers recalled that repression has been rampant since the 2023 primary elections -where María Corina Machado emerged as the winner, unable to materialize her candidacy- and especially after the presidential elections. "Cases of state repression, including forced disappearance, arbitrary detention, torture, violation of due process, attacks on the right to asylum, and extrajudicial executions," as enumerated in the room and already classified by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights as "state terrorism".
Repression unleashed
The event gave special prominence to the families of some of Maduro's victims, currently deprived of their freedom. In the room, the heartbreaking testimonies of Raúl Emilio Baduel, a former political prisoner, son of General Raúl Isaías Baduel, who died in state custody, and brother of Josnars Baduel, a political prisoner since 2020; María Laura Márquez, niece of detained coordinator of the Con Venezuela Command, Dignora Hernández, and Verónica Moya, wife of Captain Antonio Sequea and sister of Fernando Noya, both prisoners. Also present was Pedro Urruchurtu, international coordinator of the Con Venezuela Command, who recently escaped from the Argentine embassy in Caracas after being in refuge for over 400 days.
"We have grown tired of seeking institutional channels"
Connected from the United States, Magalli Meda, Machado's right-hand woman and director of her campaign command, who fled the embassy along with Urruchurtu and other colleagues, also had her turn to speak. "We have grown tired of seeking institutional channels. We have done everything; what is lacking here is great courage from men, from human beings, those who say 'I am a parliamentarian, the president, the official, and I must do something to hold those repressive entities accountable for what is happening within the territory of Venezuela'," she pointed out.
"There is no way for Venezuela to be free without an absolute and perfect alignment from all political angles and all international organizations, and you are a very important factor," Meda continued, referring to European authorities. "I am a Spanish citizen, I experienced firsthand what kidnapping is, and I did not feel support from the Spanish government, from parliament," she lamented before concluding: "We need the support of all democratic people in the world to stop this situation."
In a telematic connection, mainly from Caracas in the early hours, loved ones of other unjustly detained victims also participated. Some of them were Maria Constanza de Rocha, wife of Perkins Rocha, a lawyer and Machado's right-hand man; Sairam Rivas, partner of activist Jesús Armas, and Francis Palencia, mother of Jonathan Bravo, a minor diagnosed with ADHD, detained since January 2025.