The leader of the Venezuelan opposition and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, María Corina Machado, denounced this Saturday, March 14, that the government of the interim President, Delcy Rodríguez, “intends to prolong the terror”.
Venezuela’s opposition leader made this complaint after a court denied amnesty to Perkins Rocha, legal advisor to the largest anti-Chavista coalition and former deputy.
“Denying amnesty selectively is repression. The regime led by Delcy Rodríguez intends to prolong the terror to break the morale of those who fight for democracy and freedom in Venezuela, which are now so close. You know what? They won’t succeed,” declared Machado, on social media.
The opposition leader, who visited Chile this week to participate in the inauguration of far-right politician José Antonio Kast, stated that Venezuela has decided to be free, and that “significant progress” has been made in this process.
“Today, each abuse of the regime does not paralyze us, but rather strengthens our conviction that this process is unstoppable. It is very moving to see how Venezuelans, inside and outside the country, are recovering their voices and the spaces that were stolen from them every day,” he said.
Machado stated that Perkins Rocha “is an exemplary citizen”, as well as “a courageous man, an extraordinary father and an excellent jurist”.
“The regime kidnapped him for 17 months because of the strength and precision of his words. For speaking and defending the truth. Today he remains under house arrest with an electronic ankle bracelet, and they deny amnesty,” he said.
The Nobel Prize winner called on the international community to “remain vigilant, support the legitimate demands of families and Human Rights organizations and increase pressure”, denouncing that “the regime’s repressive practices continue”.
“Perkins Rocha and all political prisoners must be completely free. Not detained, not prosecuted. Free! The regime believes that, through its selective ‘justice’, it demonstrates its power and control. We Venezuelans know that, in reality, they fear a nation that has decided to be free,” he stated.
Rocha reported last Friday that a court with jurisdiction over terrorism cases denied his request for amnesty, presented last February, arguing that his case is excluded from the amnesty law approved by Parliament.
Last Thursday, Venezuelan lawyer Omar Mora Tosta stated that the 15-day deadline to respond to Rocha’s amnesty request had expired. Rocha has been under house arrest since February 8th.
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