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Spain rejects claim of involvement in plot to ‘destabilise’ Venezuela

Spain has rejected allegations by Venezuela that Madrid was involved in a plot to destabilise Maduro's government, following the arrest of two Spanish nationals in the Latin American country.

Published: 16 September 2024 09:42 CEST
Spain rejects claim of involvement in plot to 'destabilise' Venezuela
People hold Venezuelan flags and placards during a protest against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and the results of the recent presidential election. (Photo by Leonardo Munoz / AFP)

“Spain denies and categorically rejects any insinuation that it is involved in a political destabilisation operation in Venezuela,” the source told AFP after three Americans, two Spaniards and a Czech citizen were detained in Venezuela and accused of involvement in a plot against the government.

The government has “confirmed” that the two Spanish detainees are not part of Spain’s CNI spy agency “or any other state body”, the source added.

“Spain defends a democratic and peaceful solution to the situation in Venezuela,” the source said.

Venezuela’s Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said Saturday that the foreign nationals were being held on suspicion of planning an attack on President Nicolas Maduro and his government.

He said two Spaniards were recently detained in Puerto Ayacucho in the southwest over the alleged plot linked to intelligence agencies in the United States and Spain as well as to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado.

A US State Department spokesperson said Saturday that “any claims of US involvement in a plot to overthrow Maduro are categorically false”.

The arrests come amid heightened tensions between Venezuela and both the United States and Spain over Venezuela’s disputed July 28 presidential election, which the country’s opposition accuses President Nicolas Maduro of stealing.

Maduro, who succeeded iconic left-wing leader Hugo Chávez on his death in 2013, insists he won a third term but failed to release detailed voting tallies to back his claim.

The two Spaniards, Andrés Martínez Adasme and José María Basoa, were on holiday in Venezuela, Adasme’s father told daily Spanish newspaper El Mundo.

“My son does not work for the CNI, of course not. We are waiting for information from the consulate and embassy. We still do not know what they are accused of or the reason for their arrest,” he added.

Tensions between Caracas and former colonial power Spain rose sharply after Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, 75, went into exile in Spain a week ago, after being threatened with arrest.

Earlier this week Caracas recalled its ambassador to Madrid for consultations and summoned Spain’s envoy to Venezuela for talks after a Spanish minister accused Maduro of running a “dictatorship.”

Venezuela was also angered by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s decision to meet with Gonzalez Urrutia and warned Spain against any “interference” in its affairs.

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PROPERTY

Spain’s plan to limit temporary accommodation rejected

Spain's left-wing government had planned to tighten its grip on temporary accommodation rentals as a potential means of making more long-term rentals available, but the country's right-wing parties on Tuesday rejected the proposal in parliament.

Published: 18 September 2024 11:53 CEST
Spain's plan to limit temporary accommodation rejected

If passed, the new law would have meant that anyone who wanted to temporarily rent a property would have to explain why and provide a valid reason.

For example, students or researchers would have to show the research contract or course booking to show it would only last a few months.

It would have also meant that if more than six months passed or more than two consecutive contracts issued, it will have automatically become a long-term habitual residence instead.

On Tuesday September 17th, the proposal was ultimately rejected in the Spanish Congress, voted against by Spain’s three main right-wing parties – Catalan nationalists Junts, Spain’s main opposition party the PP and far-right Vox.

The aim in part was to try and rectify the controversial Housing Law, which came into effect in 2023.

In most people’s eyes, the legislation has failed as landlords have found several loopholes to get around the restrictions, prices have continued to increase and the stock of rental properties is even more diminished.

READ ALSO: Has Spain’s Housing Law completely failed to control rents?

As a result of the fear of heightened regulation for landlords, many have left the traditional market and turned to tourist rentals or temporary accommodation instead, which are far more lucrative. 

This has had the opposite effect, increasing rental prices instead of stabilising or decreasing them.

READ MORE: Why landlords in Spain leave their flats empty rather than rent long-term

Seasonal contracts and room rentals allow landlords to raise prices every six or nine months and they not subject to the price limitations of the housing law.

The idea of this new law was to try and set the maximum duration of a temporary rental contracts at six months in order to avoid this, but it could have potentially also caused problems for many who need this type accommodation such as students, digital nomads, those living here on a short term basis etc. 

During the debate, Sumar’s spokesperson, Íñigo Errejón, defended the law saying that it is a “solvent”, “fair” and “precise” proposal, which will help “correct an abuse” and “close the gap through which “Landlords can use to avoid the LAU (Urban Leasing Law) and rent regulation”.  

Far-left party Podemos blamed the ruling PSOE for having left this “hole” in the housing law, but also agreed that the restrictions on temporary accommodation were needed to try and rectify this.

READ ALSO: Has Spain’s Housing Law completely failed to control rents?

Junts (Catalonia’s main pro-independence party) and the PNV, the Basque nationalist party, were firmly against it. They agreed that the problem must be solved and that “accessible decent housing was needed”, but raised the situation of students, interns, residents or workers who need housing for flexible periods.

Junts party member Marta Madrenas warned of the harmful effects that this limitation on temporary rentals can have for university cities such as Girona.

Vox and the PP meanwhile argued that they don’t want to help cover up the mistakes made by the left with regards to the Housing Law.

Vox deputy Ignacio Hoces stated that the increase in seasonal rentals has occurred due to the “failure” of the Housing Law, since this has caused rental prices to “skyrocketed” by 13 percent and the supply to be reduced by 15 percent.

Temporary accommodation, referred to as alquiler temporal or alquiler de temporada in Spanish, is considered to be anything that’s longer than a month but shorter than a year, middle ground between short-term and long-term rentals. It is also referred to as monthly accommodation or seasonal accommodation.

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