A prominent anti-government activist was barred from leaving Venezuela on Saturday for planned meetings with European leaders, dealing a setback to opposition attempts to rally international pressure on President Nicolas Maduro.
Lilian Tintori posted a photo on Twitter of herself at Caracas’ international airport holding a document signed by immigration officials ordering the seizure of her passport as she was preparing to board an afternoon flight. Tintori said she had a meeting planned for Monday in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron.
“The evidence is clear why the dictatorship is stirring the pot against me,” Tintori tweeted. “They want to keep me from talking about the humanitarian crisis we are living in Venezuela.”
Such a large sum of cash is rare in Venezuela, more so because like many goods in the country currency bills are in short supply. Most people have trouble withdrawing even the equivalent of the monthly minimum wage – 250,000 bolivars or around $15 at the black market rate – from banks, the reason why even taxi drivers and newspaper kiosks now accept payment in plastic or electronic transfers.
Tintori denounced the probe as politically motivated, pointing out in a video that it’s not a crime to have cash in one’s possession. She said the money, found in her car as it was parked at her mother-in-law’s home, was to pay for family emergencies including the hospitalization of her 100-year-old grandmother.
Tintori said she kept such a large sum in cash because of spiraling triple-digit inflation that has pulverized the value of Venezuela’s currency and because no local bank would open an account or give a credit card to such an outspoken critic of the government.
While it’s not clear what possible crime Tintori is being investigated for, some government supporters have accused her of using the funds to finance “terrorism” – a term they frequently use to describe violent protests that have rocked Venezuela – although they have presented no evidence.