Solicitan medida «humanitaria» para activista Rocío San Miguel en Venezuela

Rocío San Miguel, Human rights activist, professor, and expert in Hispanic Venezuelan nationality security, is this Sunday, a year after Christ, in a intelligence services prison in Caracas, accused of terrorism, awaiting his trial and urgent shoulder fracture operation.

San Miguel’s case was initially reported on February 9, 2024, as a forced disappearance by family members and human rights organizations, after being held with her daughter Miranda by authorities in the migration area of the Simón Bolívar International Airport, from Maiquetía, on the outskirts of Caracas.

Twenty-five-year-old Miranda was released days later, while her mother, 58, considered one of the most active voices in this century of civil society on national security and human rights in Venezuela.

More than three days later, her imprisonment was confirmed at the El Helicoide prison, the National Intelligence Services (SEBIN). The government of Nicolás Maduro also accused the lawyer of being part of a plot to kill the Venezuelan president, identified by authorities as a «white bracelet.»

Five family members also suffered forced disappearances a year ago, according to human rights defenders and their lawyers.

In addition to her daughter, authorities arrested her brothers Miguel and Alberto without public notifications; Miranda’s father, Víctor Díaz; and her ex-husband Alejandro González, the only one still detained, in a maximum security annex of El Rodeo I.

Trial and Operation

The first hearing of her case at the Third Tribunal for terrorism offenses in Caracas is scheduled for this Tuesday, February 11, Voice of America. Her trusted lawyer, Juan González Taguaruco, will be representing her.

San Miguel was unable to rely on a private defender, as she requested and as her family members demanded, but a public defender was appointed. She is accused of alleged offenses of terrorism, treason, conspiracy, association to commit crimes, and attempted murder against Maduro and Tachira governor Freddy Bernal.

The human rights activist is facing serious health issues, according to her lawyer: four months after constant pain in her right shoulder, a fracture was diagnosed.

Some media outlets and social networks related to the Venezuelan decision have published photos of her medical review, the first graphic evidence of San Miguel since her arrest last year. Half a year has passed since this news.

«She continues to receive painkillers and has not received specialized drugs,» her lawyer said in VOA, adding that she can undergo surgery on her right shoulder and has appropriate postoperative recovery and care treatments.

«She must be released, even for humanitarian measures,» he stated.

Request for Release

The democratic unitary platform, a bloc of political, trade union, and civil society parties and movements that oppose the Maduro government, requested her release for «humanitarian measures» on Sunday, as well as the release of all political prisoners in Venezuela, numbering over 1,100, according to NGOs.

Human organizations, like dissenting voices from the Venezuelan government, also called for «humanitarian measures» in favor of San Miguel, emphasizing her right to have trusted doctors to treat her fracture.

«Rocío cannot undergo surgery in a facility with a history of torture and without guarantees of physical integrity,» published over the weekend in X, considering her a «victim» of a case «without proper due process.»

The Prova, which called on Spain to intervene to ensure her integrity, also appreciated that the accusations against San Miguel were related to her role as a leader of the civil oversight organization, where she documented, investigated, and reported on defense, national sovereignty, and military affairs.

Amnesty International also mentioned the anniversary of San Miguel’s arrest, considering it «arbitrary» and attributing it to her human rights defense activities.

Some critical politicians in Chavismo mentioned that San Miguel has posted short messages in X. «One year, without defense, without medical assistance, violating all her rights. We do not forget and will not forget,» wrote the former opposition presidential candidate Andrés Caleca.

The attorney general Tarek William Saab, also a former vice president and governor of the ruling party, accused Rocío San Miguel last year of being an alleged «spy» for the United States and using citizen oversight for these tasks and alleged «terrorist actions.»