Italian-Venezuelan Daniel Echenagucía released in Venezuela after nearly two and a half years in prison
Daniel Echenagucía, an Italian-Venezuelan citizen detained in August 2024, was released and received at the General Consulate of Italy in Caracas.
Echenagucía received at Italy's Consulate following his release
The Italian-Venezuelan Daniel Echenagucía was released in Venezuela and received at the General Consulate of Italy in Caracas, according to es-us.noticias.yahoo.com on Saturday evening. The news was announced by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The International Committee of the Red Cross facilitated the release: its team conducted a medical examination and verified Echenagucía's physical and psychological conditions, following nearly two and a half years in a maximum-security prison facility. The General Consulate is providing assistance to the compatriot, who will leave the country shortly, according to a statement from the Italian Foreign Ministry, known as the Farnesina.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani described the release as "another step forward in the process of democratic transition undertaken by Venezuela" and confirmed "Italian availability to accompany this path".
Echenagucía had been detained on 2 August 2024 at a checkpoint of the Bolivarian National Guard in Valencia, Carabobo State, while travelling in a car with his wife and two children. The authorities accused him of conspiracy, criminal association, terrorism, financing of terrorism and treason, according to the non-governmental organisation Foro Penal, cited by news agency ANSA.
Venezuelan judicial authorities ordered the detention to be replaced with precautionary measures, accepting a recommendation from the association Programme for Democratic Coexistence and Peace. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), an organ of the OAS, had warned of risks to Echenagucía's life, integrity and health, citing alleged assaults, restrictions on contact with the outside world, and a lack of medical attention for various conditions, including chronic asthma, arthrosis and hypertension.
According to available information, there would currently be no citizens detained in Venezuela with only an Italian passport, although there would be dozens of Italian-Venezuelans in prisons. Among the names mentioned in a dossier handed to deputy Fabio Porta—elected in the overseas constituency for South America—are José Luongo, Juan Carlos Marrufo, Gerardo Cotticchia, Olvany Gasperi, Tulio Medina Gianfelice, Walter and Massimiliano Ranieri, Carmelo, Daniel and Levin De Grazia, and Daniel Necol Buttafuoco.
The case of Hugo Enrique Marino Salas, who disappeared in April 2019, remains unresolved. According to his family's account, he would have been detained by agents of Venezuelan military counter-intelligence, and since then there has been no news of his whereabouts.
Source: Google News VE — Crime