The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Venezuela, Oliver Blanco, denied this Thursday the versions that link the Foreign Ministry with the prohibition of access by a delegation of Spanish MEPs to the residence of lawyer Perkins Rochawho is under house arrest in Caracas.
The controversy arose after officials from the Bolivarian National Police (PNB) stationed in the vicinity of the house prevented the entry of the European parliamentarians Hermann Tertsch and Jorge Martín Frías. According to reports of the incident, the agents attributed the restriction of visits to alleged instructions emanating from that office.
Given the circulation of videos of the operation and questions from those close to the jurist, the head of Venezuelan diplomacy rejected the participation of his ministry through a publication on the social network
The frustrated meeting and the family complaint
The blockade occurred this Thursday when Spanish legislators went to Rocha’s home for a meeting as part of their observation agenda in the country. Given the police refusal, the MEPs had to communicate remotely from the street while the constitutional lawyer greeted them from the balcony of his apartment.
During the security deployment, Rocha’s wife, María Costanza Cipriani, demanded explanations from the officials, warning that there is no court order prohibiting the entry of visitors to the residence.
“You can ask me if the court prohibited visits. I can answer that. Now, if the Foreign Ministry is the one that has to give the answer, we can call Oliver Blanco to see if Oliver Blanco knows about that,” Cipriani said outside his house after hearing the police version.
Second incident in less than 24 hours
The impediment of access to representatives of the European Parliament It represents the second episode of restriction recorded in less than 24 hours at the jurist’s residence.
On Wednesday, PNB commissions also blocked the passage of journalists and frustrated a planned meeting with representatives of the United Nations, despite the fact that Rocha’s legal defense confirmed before the court in the case that there are no judicial prohibitions on his visiting regime.
