Roberto Marrero

Roberto Eugenio Marrero Borjas is a Venezuelan attorney, politician, and chief of staff to Juan Guaidó; he was arrested by SEBIN during a raid on his home in the early morning hours of 21 March 2019, and detained in El Helicoide, a prison run by SEBIN and "considered the country's largest torture center" according to Clarín. Marrero is also an attorney for Leopoldo López;

Néstor Reverol, Interior Minister, said Marrero was part of a "terrorist cell" that was planning to attack government officials. On 28 March, a judge ruled that Marrero would remain in prison while evidence is gathered; the prosecutor has 45 days to present evidence. He was charged with "conspiracy, money laundering, association to commit a crime and concealment of weapons and explosives". founded the Human Rights Chair at Santa Maria University. He was a councilor for the Baruta Municipality.

Political career When Carlos Vecchio was prohibited from running in the 2015 Venezuelan parliamentary elections, the Democratic Unity Roundtable (, MUD) solicited the National Electoral Council to accept Marrero as the candidate for Monagas state. Representing the Popular Will political party, Marrero served as secretary in 2016 for the Venezuelan National Assembly. A personal friend of the founder of the Popular Will party, political prisoner Leopoldo López, Marrero was a member of the party's leadership. Vergara tweeted that there were at least 40 SEBIN officials with long arms in 12 vehicles; Vergara says that as he was being taken away, Marrero shouted to him that the officials had planted a grenade and two rifles. Marrero was accused of involvement in the 2019 blackout and terrorism. Guaidó said on 21 March that Marrero's whereabouts were not known. The Guardian says Marrero was taken to El Helicoide;

By noon on 22 March, there had been no contact with Marrero, and lawmakers who went to El Helicoide were denied access.

Manuel Cristopher Figuera, former director of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN) who defected to the US after the failed 2019 Venezuelan uprising, told the Associated Press in July 2019 that, before focusing on Marrero, Maduro had targeted Guaidó's mother; Figuera says that because Guaidó's mother had cancer, they opted instead to accuse Maduro. Figuera said that Maduro told him, "Plant some weapons on him. Do what you have to do"; "And that's what we did", said Figuera.

Charges Jorge Rodríguez, Maduro's Communications Minister, alleged on state television that "Marrero was the ringleader of a plot to bring hitmen from Central America to Venezuela to carry out assassinations". As evidence, he offered screen shots from Marrero's cell phone, which Rodríguez claims show that Marrero was arranging payment for these hitmen. Maduro alleged that phone conversations about attempts to assassinate him had been recorded; the opposition denies these allegations.

Several days later, attorney Juan Planchart Márquez, Guaidó's cousin, was arrested and was being held at SEBIN headquarters; Rodríguez claimed Planchart was the "financial operator" of the network that allegedly plotted to assassinate Maduro.

Reactions

Guaidó called it a "vile and vulgar kidnapping", adding "Either Nicolas Maduro doesn't dare to arrest me, or he's not the one giving orders." said that Maduro had two objectives with the "political kidnapping": 1) to "test the international threats against the dictatorship", and 2) to create a distraction to cover the recent revelations from Ronald Dugarte. Dugarte was formerly with Venezuela's military counterintelligence, and told the Organization of American States (OAS) that political prisoners – both civilians and members of the armed forces – are tortured, and that intelligence work is directed by Cubans in Venezuela.

US special envoy for Venezuela Elliot Abrams said there will be consequences for the five individuals involved in Marrero's arrest. El Universal names the same people as Carol Padilla, Farik Mora and Dinorah Bustamante. The United States Department of State issued a statement in April 2019 highlighting Marrero's case as an example of the Maduro administration human rights abuses, alleging that "SEBIN has a record of using cruel and inhumane treatment to coerce confessions".

After the arrest of several people around Guaidó, OAS Secretary-General Luis Almagro described it as a "totalitarian attack" and called for "more forceful actions" from other countries. The Lima Group – including Argentina, Brazil and Canada – condemned the arrest. Paraguay's Chancellery tweeted that it condemned the illegal detention and demanded an end to human rights violations in Venezuela. Juan Carlos Varela, President of Panama, said the country would take concrete measures against Maduro's regime if Marrero is not released. Iván Duque Márquez, Colombia's President, called the incident a "vile aggression" and said the international community should "condemn the criminal persecution of the dictatorship". Costa Rica and Peru also condemned the act. Canada's Chrystia Freeland said Marrero had been "illegally detained by the Maduro regime. Intimidation and fear will not stop the return of democracy to #Venezuela. Those responsible must be held accountable."

Michelle Bachelet, chief of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), called on Maduro to reveal Marrero's location.

The European Union called for the immediate and unconditional release of Marrero. France insisted that the repression against opposition members has to stop. Germany expressed repudiation for the arbitrary detention, saying it only intensified the conflict, and asked for guarantees of Marrero's safety.

Reuters described the arrest and detention as part of "an escalating crackdown by President Nicolas Maduro against his opponents". Bloomberg said Maduro was pressuring Guaidó, and "testing the commitment of foreign governments to protecting him".

Banking sanctions

Just hours after Marrero's detention, the United States Department of the Treasury responded on 22 March 2019 by placing sanctions on BANDES, the Venezuelan Economic and Social Development Bank and four of its subsidiaries, that are based in Venezuela, Uruguay and Bolivia.

US National Security Advisor John Bolton tweeted, "BANDES bank is to Venezuela's financial sector what PDVSA is to its oil sector. This action will severely affect any attempted currency movements by Maduro and his cronies moving forward."

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said, "The willingness of Maduro's inner-circle to exploit Venezuela's institutions knows no bounds. Regime insiders have transformed BANDES and its subsidiaries into vehicles to move funds abroad in an attempt to prop up Maduro. Maduro and his enablers have distorted the original purpose of the bank, which was founded to help the economic and social well-being of the Venezuelan people, as part of a desperate attempt to hold onto power."

Release Maduro pardoned 110 individuals who opposed his administration on 31 August 2020, including mostly politicians from the Venezuelan opposition along with union leaders, journalists, and others. Some of those individuals rejected the "pardon", on the grounds that they had committed no crime, and "that the decree excludes military and police officers, some of whom have been in prison for more than a decade on charges of rebellion and treason, which their lawyers and relatives deny", according to Reuters.

After one-and-half years in El Helicoide, Marrero was released as part of the pardon.