UPDATE: ALLEGED COLOMBIAN PARAMILITARY COUP PLOT

C O N F I D E N T I A L CARACAS 001692

SIPDIS


NSC FOR CBARTON
USCINCSO ALSO FOR POLAD
USAID DCHA/OTI FOR RPORTER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/03/2013
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL PINS VE
SUBJECT: UPDATE: ALLEGED COLOMBIAN PARAMILITARY COUP PLOT

REF: CARACAS 1543

Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ABELARDO A. ARIAS FOR REASONS 1.4 (B
) AND (D)

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SUMMARY
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1. (U) Colombian Foreign Minister Carolina Barco, after
meeting with President Chavez May 14, told reporters that her
government is cooperating fully with Venezuelan authorities
in the investigation of alleged Colombian paramilitaries
detained in the southern outskirts of Caracas May 9 (ref).
Barco denied that Colombia was involved in their activities.
Additionally, a military court upheld the detention of three
Venezuelan military officers allegedly linked to the
Colombians on the charge of military rebellion. Security
forces detained two supposed paramilitaries who had escaped
capture on May 9, while GOV officials released more details
of the alleged coup plot. End Summary.

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"COLOMBIA IS NOT INVOLVED"
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2. (U) After meeting with President Hugo Chavez May 14,
Colombian Foreign Minister Carolina Barco told reporters that
her government is cooperating fully with Venezuelan
authorities in the ongoing investigation of alleged Colombian
paramilitaries detained in the southern outskirts of Caracas
May 9 (ref). Responding to questions, Barco denied that
Colombia was involved in the alleged activities. The Foreign
Minister emphasized that the two countries are holding "frank
and open" discussions, and that Venezuelan authorities will
provide Colombia with the names and identity numbers of 63
detainees shortly. Responding to a reporter, Barco
acknowledged President Chavez' concern with the possible
involvement of the Colombian military in the alleged plot,
but she defended the integrity of her country's armed forces.


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VENEZUELAN MILITARY IMPLICATED
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3. On May 13, military tribunal judge Ruben Garcia upheld the
detention of three Venezuelan military officers allegedly
linked to the Colombians on the charge of military rebellion.
Col. Pedro Pico (Air Force),Col. Jesus Castro (National
Guard),and Capt. Francisco Nieto (National Guard) were
ordered held for the duration of the investigation. National
Guard Capt. Douglas Perez was released without charges after
having been found in his brother-in-law's house with
bullet-proof vests, according to news reports.

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MORE "PARAMILITARIES"
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4. (U) Claiming that he fled the ranch where his compatriots
were detained May 9, a 25-year-old alleged Colombian was
picked up by political police (DISIP) officers May 13 on a
neighboring farm. Sobbing, the young man told reporters that
men came to his hometown of Cucuta, Colombia offering
agricultural work in Venezuela. "But they cheated us," he
said, "because they also offered us Venezuelan identity
documents if we voted for Chavez." He claimed that the
alleged recruits were brought by bus and "trained with one
rifle to rob homes and buses and to kill people," according
to press reports. The National Guard reported the May 13
detention of another Colombian who had allegedly escaped from
the ranch where the men had been brought. That individual
was turned over to the military prosecutor in charge of the
case.


5. (U) Speaking to reporters May 13, Defense Minister Gen.
Jorge Luis Garcia Carneiro said 115 alleged paramilitaries
have been detained and asserted that up to 500 are still at
large. Information Minister Jesse Chacon told the reporters
that "Plan Fumigation" had two core elements: first, a group
of "paramilitaries" were to attack an army base while wearing
camouflage military uniforms to give the impression of an
uprising taking place within the armed forces. The media


were meant to play a role, according to Chacon, by
broadcasting the images of the "uprising" and thereby
encouraging other military bases to rebel. Second, a group
of irregulars was to have been dispatched to Miraflores
Palace to kill President Chavez. According to Chacon, the
joint operation was meant to have encouraged an international
intervention to restore order.


6. (U) Caracas daily TalCual reported May 14 that one of the
detained "paramilitaries" was using the name and lost
identity document of a church pastor still living in Cucuta,
Colombia. TalCual also discovered that a Venezuelan
businessman alleged by DISIP to be an accomplice in the
scheme was completely unknown in Maracaibo where he
supposedly conducted business.

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OTHER CASUALTIES
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7. (U) The attorney for Dulce Bravo and Vasco Da Costa, both
supposedly implicated in "Plan Fumigation," claimed they had
been severely mistreated during their detention in DISIP
headquarters. The attorney alleged that Bravo was sexually
mistreated and Da Costa was subjected to electric shock
torture before they were transferred to Fort Tiuna May 13.
Military Attorney General Eladio Aponte ordered a medical
examination of Da Costa, according to news reports.

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COMMENT
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8. (C) The GOV stepped up its efforts to blame the U.S. for
the alleged paramilitary "invasion" of Venezuela with a
massive march in Caracas May 16, during which Chavez
announced the "anti-imperialist" phase of the Bolivarian
Revolution (septel).
SHAPIRO


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2004CARACA01692 - CONFIDENTIAL