A Venezuelan opposition politician met with prosecutors after leaving an Argentine diplomatic base

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Venezuela’s attorney general said Friday that an opposition politician met with prosecutors after leaving the Argentine diplomatic base in the capital, Caracas, where he hid for nine months to avoid arrest.

Attorney General Tarek William Saab said in a statement that Fernando Martinez “voluntarily presented himself” to authorities and gave a statement after leaving the diplomatic facility on Thursday. Saab added that Martinez “decided to actively cooperate” with the prosecution.

Martinez was one of six members of Venezuela’s political opposition that the government of Argentine President Javier Miley allowed into the ambassador’s residence in March, when authorities loyal to the ruling party issued arrest warrants for them, accusing them of facilitating acts of violence aimed at destabilizing the situation. country.

Two people familiar with the situation at the facility confirmed to The Associated Press that Martinez was home Thursday night after leaving the ambassador’s residence. The people spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.

The circumstances under which Martinez left the complex remain unclear. Among those who stayed at the home of the Argentine ambassador is Maria Corina Machado, the opposition force’s campaign manager and director of communications.

Since the end of November, the group has condemned the constant presence of agents of special services and the police outside the residence. He also accused President Nicolas Maduro’s government of cutting electricity and water supplies.

The government denies the allegations.

Martinez took part in a parallel government created by the opposition after Maduro’s re-election in 2018, which many saw as a fraud. In the 1990s, he was the Minister of Communications and Transport, and participated in negotiations between the opposition and the government.