Venezuela now says it will seek arrest of Argentine judge who ordered seizure of plane

Venezuela says it will seek the arrest of the Argentine judge who authorised the seizure of a cargo plane in Buenos Aires two years ago.

Attorney General Tarek William Saab said at a press conference on Monday that he had asked for existing arrest warrants issued in relation to the case to be extended to Argentine Federal Judge Federico Villena.

He has already requested the arrest of President Javier Milei, Security Minister Patricia Bullrich and others for the seizure, which Venezuela says was illegal.

“We will extend the arrest warrants” for “the theft of the Emtrasur [cargo] plane,” announced the chief prosecutor to the press.

The comments are sure to ramp up an already escalating crisis between both countries. 

A court in Argentina last week ordered the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a case probing alleged crimes against humanity.

Saab specified Monday that Venezuela’s Public Prosecutor will issue eleven additional arrest warrants for the plane seizure case, including Villena, who authorised the confiscation at Ezeiza International Airport, and Prosecutor Cecilia Incardona, who endorsed that request.

Natoinal lawmaker Gerardo Milman is also on the list, according to reports.

“We will ground the arrest warrants on [the crimes of] aggravated, they are vulgar thieves disguised as a false entity and authority to commit these crimes; money-laundering, unlawful confinement, simulation of a punishable event, unlawful interference, misuse of an aircraft and criminal association," said Saab.

In September, one day after an NGO and federal judges requested from Argentine courts the arrest of Maduro, Venezuelan authorities announced arrest warrants against Milei, Bullrich and his sister, presidential chief-of-staff Karina Milei.

“Argentina rejects the arrest warrants … stemming from the incident with the Emtrasur airplane," responded Argentina’s Foreign Ministry in a statement.

“The aforementioned case was solved by the Judiciary, an independent branch over which the Executive Branch cannot or should not have any influence,” it added.

The aircraft, withheld in Buenos Aires since June 2022 by a court order during the government of left-winger Alberto Fernández, was sold to Venezuela by sanctioned Iranian airline Mahan Air.

It arrived from Mexico with a cargo of auto parts and its crew-members – 14 Venezuelans and five Iranians – were withheld and subsequently released. 

The seizure of the plane by the United States was finalised in February by order of Judge Villena during Milei’s administration.

Relations between Venezuela and Argentina have plummeted since Milei’s inauguration last December. Both he and Maduro trade insults frequently.

– TIMES/AFP