We, the local employees of the Consulate of Venezuela in Curaçao, make public the violent treatment and threats received by a consulate official, who has the full support of consul Marisol Gutiérrez to intimidate, insult, physically and verbally attack the local employees.
This man, who responds to the name of Sergio Armando Gutiérrez Moreno, who has no contract signed with the consulate and whose "official" position within the diplomatic mission is a driver, is a former military and former bodyguard of Gladys Gutiérrez, former president of the Supreme Court and sister of the Consul.
The citizen Sergio Gutiérrez was brought to Curaçao by the Consul in an irregular manner, because he was not sent by the Foreign Ministry of Venezuela. Here the Consul got him local documents and since then this gentleman has been usurping functions for which he is not accredited, and for which he is not trained. This man visits the undocumented/refugee detainees in Curaçao, for example, without having any idea of due process in these cases.
The violent incident occurred on Tuesday, May 29, when in the afternoon, we held a meeting with the Consul to discuss the delay in payment of our salaries, when we have served 5 months without receiving our salaries. This meeting was convened at the insistence of us and flowed quite calmly, where each partner was explaining their situation and together, we presented possible solutions. As always, nothing came to hand, just wait. Well, yes, the Consul proposed that we go and protest to the United States Consulate, who, according to her, is responsible for our situation.
At the end of the meeting, when the Consul asked if anyone else wanted to say something, Sergio Gutiérrez, who had been silent throughout the meeting, taking notes, asked to speak and immediately, began shouting and with great violence he attacked all of us, insulting us, threatening us with a series of polytheist qualifications, when we as local employees have nothing to do with politics, as very clearly expressed in our contracts and in the internal regulations of diplomatic missions.
But no, this man was not content to just intimidate and suggested that they could play with our money, tried to hit a partner and almost attacked one of the colleagues. The saddest thing is that this cowardly, shameful act, unworthy of a diplomatic mission, was supported and boosted by the head of mission, the Consul Marisol Gutiérrez.
A local colleague, who has been working at the consulate for 40 years, commented between tears and great disappointment that she never in her years of service had witnessed such a degrading situation. Obviously, we all confronted Sergio Gutiérrez, while the Consul defended him.
What at first was a meeting to find solutions, became the confrontation of two sides. On the one hand, the Consul and the violent former military and on the other hand the local employees. This case will continue its legal course in the labour office of Curaçao.
To conclude, we want to express to Sergio Armando Gutiérrez Moreno publicly, that his military, intimidating, violent and aggressive tactics will not stop us in the struggle for the revindication of our rights. To Consul Marisol Gutiérrez, we want to ask you to reconsider, not to support and encourage this type of actions and not to continue destroying the Consulate of Venezuela in Curaçao, which will celebrate 150 years of uninterrupted activities on the island on December 10, 2020.
We also want to remind the Consul that in a century and a half, many governments have passed, and this mission will always be the representation of a country called Venezuela.
Altagracia Isenia - 39 years of service
Yadira Cicilia - 11 years of service
Sioly Dugarte - 21 years of service
Maria Hinkert - 14 years of service
Luisiana González - 2 years of service
Marvianca Carolina - 2 years of service
Bibiana Quintero - 14 years of service
Vicente Quintero - 14 years of service
Franklin Garcia - 10 years of service
