Former Chávista Vice-Minister Alexander 'Mimou' Vargas arrested at Maiquetía airport
The former Vice-Minister of Sport and former ruling-party deputy Alexander Vargas was arrested at Simón Bolívar airport. Videos of the struggle with the National Guard are circulating on social media.
Arrest of former Chávista leader at Maiquetía generates repercussions in Venezuela
The former Vice-Minister of Sport and former ruling-party deputy Alexander Vargas, known as "Mimou", was detained on Friday at Simón Bolívar International Airport in Maiquetía, the main air terminal in Caracas, according to libertaddigital.com.
Agents of the Bolivarian National Guard intercepted Vargas when he was accompanied by his wife in the airport facilities. Videos circulated on social media show a situation of high tension in which the former politician attempts to resist the military personnel seeking to take him into custody.
Incident with former presidential candidate Enrique Márquez
The detention took an unexpected turn when Vargas recognised former presidential candidate Enrique Márquez, a leading figure of the Venezuelan opposition, in the terminal. According to Márquez's own account, the former official ran towards him to ask him to intercede with the agents. During the struggle, Vargas came to physically cling to Márquez whilst resisting the orders of the guard.
Márquez immediately denied any link with the detainee. "I do not know him personally and I have no relationship with him or with his public or political activities", he stated in a statement published on his official X account. The agents informed Vargas that there was a search and capture warrant against him before carrying out the arrest.
"I am unaware of what happened afterwards. I hope that his rights and those of his family are fully respected, as befits any Venezuelan citizen", added the former candidate.
Figure of Chávismo in decline
To date there has been no official pronouncement on the reasons for the arrest. The case is part of a series of internal purges within Nicolás Maduro's regime.
Vargas, a former professional basketball player, was for years a regular figure at official acts and propaganda events of Chávismo. However, his position within the movement had begun to erode at the beginning of this year: in February he was removed from his post at the Movement for Peace Foundation.
Source: Google News VE — Caracas