Letter written by Jaime dos Reis Macedo’s wife includes three “firm” requests to be made to the Portuguese government
Jaime dos Reis Macedo’s wife sent a letter to Paulo Rangel asking, as a matter of urgency, for diplomatic intervention to demand the release of the political prisoner, a Portuguese-Venezuelan citizen, detained for six months in Caracas. He also requests a humanitarian transfer to Portugal.
The letter, written by Virgínia Escobar, is a desperate plea for help addressed to Paulo Rangel, Portuguese Minister of Foreign Affairs. Jaime dos Reis Macedo’s wife guarantees that, since her husband’s arrest in July 2025, the political prisoner has constantly seen his fundamental rights violated.
Therefore, the family member has three “firm” requests to make to the Portuguese government: diplomatic intervention with the Venezuelan authorities to demand the immediate release of Jaime dos Reis Macedo; that humanitarian transfer to Portugal be facilitated, “where he can be reunited with his family, receive appropriate medical assistance and, above all, live in freedom under the protection of his rights as a citizen of Portuguese descent”, reads this letter sent to the MNE; calls for all available diplomatic channels to be used to give visibility to the case and “ensure compliance with international standards of justice and human rights.”
The document highlights that this is not an isolated case and that hundreds of people detained in Venezuela face serious human rights violations. It calls on Portugal to translate the values it has into concrete actions.
TVI Exclusive (from the same group as CNN Portugal), political prisoner, violently detained for being the godfather of a human rights activist, Ana Karina Garcia, a refugee in Colombia since 2018.
The report had access to exclusive images of Jaime Macedo’s arrest. The video shows the moment in which the Portuguese citizen is intercepted by the police, in an operation that involved several State security bodies without there being a simple arrest warrant.
There are also seven Portuguese citizens detained in Venezuela in cases of a political nature.
Last Sunday, the only Portuguese citizen detained, Carla Silva, was released, accused of having participated in an attempted coup d’état. She was sentenced to 20 years and had already served more than five.
