At least 12 foreigners and two Venezuelans have been deprived of their liberty (euphemism for arrested, detained, imprisoned) in recent months, when they tried to cross into Venezuela through the land border crossing points of Táchira State, arrests in which the relatives of these citizens have been denied any information about the reason and place of confinement for several days, and even months.
By Luz Dary Depablos / Correspondent lapatilla.1eye.us
As reported this Thursday through social networks, Rhoda Torres, mother of Jhonattan Torres Duque, who was arrested at the Peracal checkpoint on October 27th, and to date Jhonattan whereabouts are unknown.
“I am dying as a mother, I can’t stand it anymore. Where is my son?” Torres begged through tears, retelling that her son was detained in front of her. “I could see him, I could have hugged him, she cried, we cried, my son is Venezuelan. When I looked for him throughout Táchira, I looked for him everywhere and they told me that he was no longer there.”
“Later they told me that he had been transferred to Caracas to a place for investigation, but I am not sure of that because I have not seen him, I have not had a single call,” Torres continued in her story.
She also emphasized that the young man is going through a process of depression. The mother showed a copy of her son’s birth certificate and identity card, which shows that he is Venezuelan and not a foreigner, as she claims that, because as he is very tall, speaks two languages and because of his appearance, he seems to be a foreigner, however, he does not have another nationality, she clarified.
Five Colombians, three of them civilians and two military personnel, have been deprived of their freedom at the Táchira border, as well as three Peruvians, two Spaniards, an Argentine, a Uruguayan, and two other Venezuelans. One of them was detained when he offered a motorcycle taxi service to Peruvians.
Given this situation, the lapatilla.1eye.us team consulted William Gómez, a border analyst in Táchira, who called on foreigners who hope to visit Venezuela in the coming days, whether for family or tourism reasons, to think seriously about it and take precautions.
“As January 10th, approaches, the situation becomes hostile, very rigorous and we could even say, highly dangerous for citizens of foreign nationality” who try to enter Venezuela through the Táchira border, he said.
He also stated that foreigners from countries where their governments have had diplomatic ruptures with Venezuela could be more at risk, especially those who travel from countries that have already recognized Edmundo González victory.
He stressed that this situation is also latent with citizens of Brazil and Colombia, where their governments do not demonstrate against the government of Nicolás Maduro, but have not recognized his victory either.
“Until the detailed and disaggregated minutes (official records) of each voting table are presented, to certify and guarantee without doubt that Maduro won, but they are waiting for the presentation of these minutes and that this has not been fulfilled. This has generated international tensions with some governments, due to nervous distrust towards the Venezuelan government.”
Controls increased at migration offices in Venezuela
For the border analyst, in the last post-election quarter, controls for the entry of foreigners into the country have been rigorously increased, specifically on the land border between Táchira and Norte de Santander, as well as through El Amparo, in the state of Apure.
He explained that this has led to the arrest of some foreign citizens, “who have been the targets of intelligence and counterintelligence of the Venezuelan State, who have been accused of being involved in alleged acts of possible attempts to threaten the security of leaders of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) or against officials of Nicolás Maduro.”
“The formal and normal process of deportation or expulsion from the country for whatever reasons according to the law or the immigration regulations of the country, is not being complied with at this time. The processes to which a foreign citizen can be subject are stipulated by law, it establishes whether he should be deported or expelled, but this does not happen, instead they are detained and then linked to criminal groups or as one who comes to threaten the security of some authorities,” said Gómez.
It is worth highlighting the deprivation of liberty of the two Colombian soldiers, who crossed the border by mistake into Venezuelan territory. “It would not be the first time that this has happened with soldiers from the National Guard or the Army who have involuntarily crossed the established border lines,” he said.
He recalled the incident that occurred last September, when a military plane that was supposed to land at the Cipriano Castro airport in San Antonio del Táchira, but accidentally landed with five Venezuelan soldiers on board at the Camilo Daza international airport in the city of Cúcuta, Colombia.
However, as part of the cross-border agreements between local authorities, the officials were allowed to return to Venezuela in less than four hours, a situation that has not occurred with the Colombian soldiers who were recently detained when they made a “mistaken turn” in their unit (according to authorities in that country) on the Venezuelan side of the Francisco de Paula Santander international bridge.
It should be noted that the protocols for Venezuelans entering Táchira with a passport from Colombia have been increased, since when requesting the entry stamp at any of the Saime offices located at the international bridges, officials require citizens to provide their fingerprints, allow themselves to be photographed, and ask which city they are going to, despite they being in their own country.
On the other hand, human rights defender Tamara Sujú alerted the Center for Latin American Studies about the many “forced disappearances” that have been recorded in Venezuela, both of nationals and foreigners, as “a widespread systematic practice of the Venezuelan State.”