Paulina Facchin: "The Peruvian government is responsible for what may happen to my life"

Paulina Fachinn denounced the persecution she is suffering at the hands of Maduro's Venezuelan regime. The activist who has lived in Lima for more than 10 years has seen how the Peruvian National Superintendence of Migration has resolved a process against her, due to her request for nationality, applying a sanction of expulsion from the country with a 15-year entry ban for infringement of migration regulations. Facchin has assured that he applied for Peruvian nationality by fulfilling all the legal requirements and that the process has turned into a witch-hunt in the purest Chavista style. 

Are you still in Peru or have you already left the country?

I am still in Peru, although I have had to leave my home, I am still in the country taking the appropriate legal action given that I am the object of this arbitrary process carried out by the Peruvian National Superintendence of Migration. In a hasty and arbitrary manner, an expulsion order has been issued against me and the Peruvian national police are being instructed to execute this order, which would mean my arrest, detention and expulsion to the Venezuelan regime of Nicolás Maduro. 

So you are currently in hiding?

Yes. 

Paulina, do you fear for your life and physical integrity?

I fear for my physical integrity and that of my family. I have been living in Peru with my husband and my family for a little over 11 years. Among the arbitrary acts being committed by the National Superintendence of Migration, they are alleging that I have no family in Peru and for this reason I have no roots of any kind to further justify the expulsion from the country and that I have no way of defending myself for humanitarian reasons such as not being able to leave my daughter alone. The Lima Zonal Headquarters of the National Superintendence of Migration decided to apply the sanction of expulsion with a 15-year ban on entry for infringement of migration regulations. Due to the political persecution I am suffering, in 2018, I applied for Peruvian nationality by fulfilling all the legal requirements and this became an arbitrary process and a witch hunt in the best style of Chavism, but in Peru. I have experienced the political persecution of Nicolás Maduro's regime in Venezuela and now I am experiencing it in Peru; it is not the first time that I have been attacked or persecuted in the country. I have been followed, I have had Chavista agents under my building, my home address, as well as my number plate number and my car model have been broadcast on the Venezuelan national channel just to harass me. So, let's say that Maduro's regime has now changed its strategy and is using the super national immigration office to promote my expulsion.
 

Is it true that this expulsion is to Venezuela and not to any other country of your choice?

Effectively, what is happening is that within the violation of my human rights that I am suffering, by order of the regime of Nicolás Maduro, I do not have my right to identification as a Venezuelan, I do not have a passport. Because of all this, it is difficult for me to travel or move around legally, this has been the case since 2017 when, as a result of one of my actions as an activist, where we tried to emphasise an international protest on the issue of Venezuelans without passports and how this affected the protection of Venezuelan children living abroad, the regime's condemnation was to cancel my passport.

Are you so dangerous, Paulina?

Well, I think freedom of expression is very dangerous for a dictatorship. Having activists continuously denouncing the systematic violations of human rights, having lawyers defending the country's political prisoners, having other countries, such as Spain, harbouring and sheltering Venezuelan political prisoners, victims of Maduro's communist regime, is something that annoys the regime and undermines its credibility. These issues expose to the international community all these human rights violations and expose the regime and the crisis in Venezuela.

We would like to show our full support and solidarity with your cause, and perhaps if things continue to get worse you should think about taking refuge in an embassy...

That is, I would like to take this opportunity to say that we are continuing to take all the corresponding legal and administrative actions because I believe in the justice system, that is what bothers the Venezuelan regime and the Peruvian national migration superintendence the most. I would also like to inform all the bodies of the international community, the Spanish government and all the organisations that fight for human rights that my life is at risk and I fear for it. If I am expelled and transferred to Venezuela, I would join the list of political prisoners who are victims of Nicolás Maduro's regime and that is a risk to my life and I hold the Peruvian Government responsible for what could happen to me.