A year has passed since six key members of Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado’s campaign team sought refuge in Argentina’s embassy in Caracas to evade arrest by President Nicolás Maduro’s regime. 

Venezuelan authorities have refused to grant them safe passage out of the country, subjecting them to mounting pressure through food and supply shortages—measures that intensified following the disputed presidential election on July 28, which saw Maduro claiming victory amid widespread allegations of fraud.

Of the original six, five remain. According to El Pais, Fernando Martínez Móttola, a politician affiliated with the Unitary Platform, was able to leave the embassy late last year but died three weeks ago from a stroke. 

As the Venezuelan government intensified its crackdown against opposition figures and journalists in the wake of the election, the crisis has escalated tensions between Argentina and Venezuela, with libertarian President Javier Milei emerging as one of Maduro’s most vocal critics in the region. 

Just days after the opposition figures entered the embassy, Argentina’s Foreign Ministry warned Caracas against any actions that could endanger diplomatic staff or those under their protection. It also seized the moment to push for free and fair elections, a demand that deepened the rift between the two countries.

Argentina’s entire diplomatic corps was expelled—alongside those of five other countries—forcing Buenos Aires to hand over control of its embassy to Brazil. 

Despite his broader differences with leftist Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who used to be considered a Maduro ally but became more critical after last year's contested vote, Milei acknowledged Brazil’s role in ensuring the embassy’s security. 

The transition, however, was fraught with tension, as security forces stationed snipers around the embassy and opposition figures inside feared an imminent forced eviction, which ultimately did not materialise.

In recent months, the opposition leaders, who are de facto hostages of the Chavista regime, have reported prolonged cuts to water, electricity and internet access. 

“By keeping the building or the diplomatic mission under constant siege and cutting electricity and water, the Venezuelan government shows how willing it is to break international rules to achieve its own purpose," Carolina Jimenez Sandoval, president of the Washington Office on Latin America, told Al Jazeera.

“One purpose is to break them psychologically — to make them feel that it is better for them to leave the embassy and then let the Venezuelan security forces detain them."

Deliveries of food and medicine have been blocked, with authorities allowing only limited water supplies and minimal provisions. 

Meanwhile, their appeals for international support have largely gone unanswered, as Venezuela remains gripped by political repression and economic hardships, which have driven over 7.7mn citizens to emigrate over the past decade. 

“We feel abandoned by the diplomatic community in Venezuela, which has not taken a firm stand, visited this embassy, or verified our situation,” said Magalli Meda, who led Edmundo González Urrutia’s presidential campaign last year, as quoted by El Pais.

Milei has continued to lead international opposition to Maduro, making Argentina the first stop on González Urrutia’s global tour aimed at undermining the Chavista leader’s legitimacy. 

But as Maduro remains firmly in power, hopes for a resolution—and for the asylum seekers' release—have faded.