Venezuelan security forces surround Argentine embassy after opposition members take refuge inside

Venezuelan security forces surrounded the Argentine embassy in the capital Caracas on Friday after two opposition members took refuge inside, according to posts by the opposition on social media.

The pair joined four other Venezuelan opposition figures who have taken refuge in the embassy this year.

One of the men, Pedro Urruchurtu, the international coordinator for opposition leader María Corina Machado, wrote on X that there were patrols of hooded and armed officials surrounding the diplomatic building.

The other, former deputy Omar González, also posted on X, writing: “They cut off the electricity service to the Argentine embassy in Caracas, which is currently besieged by agents of the Sebin (Bolivarian National Intelligence Service) and other state security bodies.”

A statement issued by Vente Venezuela, a movement led by Machado, described the situation as a “siege.”

“Patrols with regime agents continue to arrive at the headquarters of the Argentine embassy in Caracas. We hold Nicolás Maduro responsible for this siege against our leaders who are taking refuge in the embassy,” the statement said.

The Argentine government has filed requests for them to be allowed to leave Venezuela but they have not so far been granted.

CNN has reached out to the foreign ministries of Venezuela and Argentina for further information, but is yet to hear back.

CNN has also sought comment from the foreign ministry of Brazil, whose government assumed the protection of the diplomatic building, after Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro expelled Argentine diplomatic personnel from the country.

The expulsions came after Argentina’s government questioned the widely disputed results of the July 28 elections, in which Maduro was proclaimed the winner despite detailed results not being made public as requested by several governments and international organizations.

On Saturday, Venezuela said it had revoked Brazil’s authorization to represent Argentina’s interests in the country, including the protection of the diplomatic building. It claimed the decision was due to evidence that the embassy was being used to plan an attempted “magnicide” against Maduro and his Vice President Delcy Rodriguez.

Venezuela did not elaborate on what the evidence was. It said the decision was effective “immediately.”

Brazil said the move was a “surprise,” adding that it intended to continue to defend Argentine interests until Venezuela and Argentina agreed to another country assuming the functions.

“The Brazilian government highlights in this context, under the terms of the Vienna Conventions, the inviolability of the facilities of the Argentine diplomatic mission, which currently houses six Venezuelan asylum seekers in addition to assets and archives,” the Brazilian government said in a statement.

Argentina thanked Brazil for “its “commitment and responsibility” and warned Venezuela that it “must respect the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.”

The developments at the Argentine embassy come hours after the country’s foreign ministry asked the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue arrest warrants against Maduro and other senior government officials for possible crimes against humanity allegedly committed during post-election protests.

On Thursday, while speaking at a forum in Buenos Aires, Argentinian President Javier Milei called Maduro a “criminal.”

Argentina has rejected an arrest warrant issued by a Venezuelan court against Edmundo González, candidate of the opposition Democratic Unity Platform (PUD) and Maduro’s main rival, for his alleged responsibility in the publication of detailed data on the presidential elections.

González denies the charges. The PUD says it obtained those records through its election witnesses.