An 88-year-old former police officer serving a life sentence for crimes against humanity committed during Argentina's dictatorship was transferred Friday to house arrest in a beach resort following a court ruling repudiated by human rights groups.
A woman stands with a picture of former police officer Miguel Etchecolatz that reads in Spanish, "He is not a poor man, he is a genocide" during a protest in Mar del Plata, Argentina, Friday, Dec. 29, 2017. Etchecolatz was sentenced to life in prison for crimes against humanity during Argentina last dictatorship but a court in Argentina has granted him house arrest Wednesday, due to health problems. (AP Photo/Marina Devo)
Miguel Etchecolatz was in charge of various clandestine detention and torture centers in Buenos Aries during the 1976-1983 military regime and became a symbol of the state's deadly campaign against dissidents. He was considered the right-hand man of Ramon Camps, the feared police chief of Buenos Aires province at the time.
The decision by the federal court to let him serve his term under house arrest because of age and fragile health angered human rights groups and neighbors in Bosque Peralta Ramos, an upper-middle class neighborhood in the seaside resort of Mar del Plata, about 250 miles (400 kilometers) south of the Argentine capital.
The former police officer was transferred early Friday to his family's residence in Mar del Plata.
Activists and leftist militants protested outside the mayor's office under a sign saying: "Common prison and effective punishment for genocidists."
The official number of dissidents killed during the dictatorship is 7,000, but human rights groups put the figure at 30,000.
A woman stands with a banner on her back that reads in Spanish: "Tourists: this city hosts genocides" during a protest against former police officer Miguel Etchecolatz being transferred to Mar del Plata, Argentina, Friday, Dec. 29, 2017. Etchecolatz was sentenced to life in prison for crimes against humanity during Argentina's last dictatorship but a court in Argentina has granted him house arrest Wednesday, due to health problems. (AP Photo/Marina Devo)
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo González, who the United States recognized as the winner of last year's presidential election, kicked off an international tour on Saturday that will take him to Washington just days before President Nicolás Maduro is set to be sworn in for a third term in defiance of international pressure.
A crowd of a few hundred Venezuelan migrants broke into shouts of “Edmundo, Presidente” as González emerged from a meeting with Argentine President Javier Milei to wave to supporters from the balcony of the iconic Casa Rosada, or Pink House, in Buenos Aires.
“We are doing whatever the cause of freedom requires,” Milei, an effusive far-right supporter of the Venezuelan opposition, said as he welcomed González to the presidential palace with honors normally reserved for a head of state.
González, a retired diplomat, fled into exile in Spain in September after a judge issued an arrest warrant following the July 28 presidential election, in which Maduro was declared the winner by the National Electoral Council, which is stacked with governing party loyalists.
In recent weeks, he has been vowing to travel to Venezuela to be sworn in for the presidential term, which according to law must begin on Jan. 10. But he hasn't said how he plans to return or wrest power from Maduro, whose party controls all institutions and the military.
“By whatever means necessary, I’m going to be there” on Jan. 10, González said.
On Thursday, Maduro’s government raised the stakes even further, announcing a $100,000 reward for information on González’s whereabouts and plastering the wanted-like bulletin with the retired diplomat's photo on social media and the arrivals board at the country's main airport.
González at a press conference said that he would travel Saturday night to the U.S., where he hopes to speak with President Joe Biden, following a brief stop in Uruguay for a meeting with President Luis Lacalle Pou. He also plans to visit Panama and the Dominican Republic as part of the impromptu regional tour.
González, who twice served as Venezuela's ambassador to Argentina more than two decades ago, used his visit to highlight the plight of hundreds of Venezuelans who remain imprisoned as part of a post-election crackdown by Maduro.
During his meeting with Milei, the two discussed the well being of five Maduro opponents who have been sheltering in the Argentine ambassador’s residence in Caracas for nearly 10 months. Maduro's government broke relations with Argentina and expelled its diplomats after Milei and other regional leaders refused to recognize Maduro's reelection.
But it has denied the activists holed up in the diplomatic compound safe passage so they can take up exile in Argentina. As part of the diplomatic standoff, Maduro's government last month also arrested an Argentine national guardsman as he was entering the country, accusing him of terrorism. Argentina said the officer, Nahuel Gallo, traveled to Venezuela to visit his wife and her family, who are from Venezuela.
An estimated 220,000 Venezuelans are believed to reside in Argentina — part of an exodus of more than 7 million who have fled political turmoil, economic chaos and political repression by Maduro since 2014.
Janet Avila, a 51-year old school teacher who left Venezuela two years ago, was among those gathered outside the presidential palace to greet González.
“I'm very grateful to the Argentines, they've been beautiful to me, but I want to go home, to be with my family,” she said.
The Biden administration and most European governments have rejected the election's official results, pointing out that authorities didn't provide detailed results as they have in past elections. Meanwhile, copies of tally sheets collected by the opposition from 85% of the nation’s electronic voting machines show that González prevailed by a more than two-to-one margin.
González, 75, was a previously unknown career diplomat when he was thrust into rallying the anti-Maduro coalition as a last-minute stand-in for opposition stalwart María Corina Machado, whom the government banned from running for office.
Venezuela's opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, center, his wife Mercedes Lopez, right, and Argentine President Javier Milei stand at the balcony of the government house in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. Gonzalez, who claims he won the 2024 presidential election and is recognized by some countries as the legitimate president-elect, traveled from exile in Madrid to Argentina. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Venezuela's opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, center right, and Argentine President Javier Milei hold hands from the government house balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. Gonzalez, who claims he won the 2024 presidential election and is recognized by some countries as the legitimate president-elect, traveled from exile in Madrid to Argentina. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Venezuela's opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, center right, and Argentine President Javier Milei wave to supporters from the government house in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. Gonzalez, who claims he won the 2024 presidential election and is recognized by some countries as the legitimate president-elect, traveled from exile in Madrid to Argentina. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Venezuela's opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia and his wife Mercedes Lopez hold hands from the government house balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. Gonzalez, who claims he won the 2024 presidential election and is recognized by some countries as the legitimate president-elect, traveled from exile in Madrid to Argentina. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Venezuela's opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, center, his wife Mercedes Lopez, right, and Argentine President Javier Milei stand at the balcony of the government house in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. Gonzalez, who claims he won the 2024 presidential election and is recognized by some countries as the legitimate president-elect, traveled from exile in Madrid to Argentina. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
People watch Venezuela's opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia and Argentine President Javier Milei wave to supporters from the government house balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. Gonzalez, who claims he won the 2024 presidential election and is recognized by some countries as the legitimate president-elect, traveled from exile in Madrid to Argentina. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Leo Zambrano, supporter of Venezuela's opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, holds a Venezuela's flag at Plaza de Mayo, outside the government house where he meets with Argentine President Javier Milei in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. Gonzalez, who claims he won the 2024 presidential election and is recognized by some countries as the legitimate president-elect, traveled from exile in Madrid to Argentina. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Venezuela's opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, right, and Argentine President Javier Milei hold hands from the government house balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. Gonzalez, who claims he won the 2024 presidential election and is recognized by some countries as the legitimate president-elect, traveled from exile in Madrid to Argentina. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
A wanted sign of Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez is displayed on the list of departure flights at the Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiquetia, near Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)
