DUELING CLAIMS OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

C O N F I D E N T I A L CARACAS 000890

SIPDIS


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

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/12/2014
TAGS: PHUM PGOV VE
SUBJECT: DUELING CLAIMS OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

REF: CARACAS 00620

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

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SUMMARY
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1. (C) Nearly a dozen Venezuelans died, 1,758 were wounded or
injured, and 410 were detained during disturbances in the
country from February 27 to March 5, according to the
opposition Democratic Coordinating Committee (DCC). Amid the
claims of government human rights abuses, the GOV has mounted
its own campaign, highlighting injuries among the security
forces and blaming the opposition itself for the alleged
rights abuses. Human rights organizations acknowledge
certain governmental actions that assist victims, but they
maintain nevertheless that the GOV bears the greater
responsibility for human rights abuses. End Summary.

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ADDING UP THE VICTIMS
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2. (U) Nearly a dozen Venezuelans died, 1,758 were wounded or
injured, and 410 were detained during disturbances in the
country from February 27 to March 5, according to a March 9
statement from the broad opposition umbrella group Democratic
Coordinating Committee (DCC). In addition, DCC spokesman
Jesus Torrealba claimed March 9 that eight anti-GOV
protesters are unaccounted for (Note: one has been accounted
for since then),and that there are nine accusations against
security forces of torture and use of excessive force,
especially by the National Guard (GN). Human rights NGO
PROVEA verified 9 dead and 103 "deprivations of personal
integrity," a catch-all description that includes injuries,
detentions, and torture. Opposition London-based NGO
Pro-Venezuela Organization (ProVeO) listed 12 dead, 8
missing, and 180 political prisoners as of March 11 on their
Web site (www.proveo.org).

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PRO-GOV CIVILIAN GROUPS ACCUSED
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3. (C) Torrealba asserted that the political police (DISIP)
and "armed irregulars" participated in the alleged March 3
killing of Jose Luis Ricaurte Blanco. Merida student leader
Nixon Moreno told poloff March 11 that Argenis Dugarte was
killed by members of the pro-Chavez student group Utopia on
March 2 and that pro-Chavez groups attacked several students
and opposition groups March 3, including an armed assault on
the student government headquarters (ref b). Merida's
student government reported the student medical clinic
treated 22 protest-related injuries March 3 and 4.

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TRYING TO FIND THE TRUTH
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4. (C) Human rights NGOs are gathering information on alleged
human rights violations through personal and phone interviews
primarily. Marino Alvarado, NGO PROVEA's Human Rights
Education Coordinator, told poloff March 11 that human rights
NGOs are reluctant to comment on exact numbers until they
verify the cases reported to them and release formal reports
-- a process that would not be completed any time soon.
Carlos Correa, PROVEA's General Coordinator, told poloff
March 8 that PROVEA also gathers information from official
sources, the media, and other human rights organizations and
then compares those numbers with its own.


5. (C) Correa remarked that convincing people to make
official complaints with the authorities has been
particularly difficult, and that the lack of an official
complaint limits the range of actions the NGO can take.
Alvarado added that many victims wish to remain anonymous due
to reprisal fears, creating a dilemma for the NGO that must
choose to include them in their report with annotations,
report them separately, or reject them altogether. Un Solo
Pueblo Media Director Adriana Sanoja told poloff March 10 she

knows of two attacks unreported to government or NGOs that
occurred near the party headquarters. She claimed local
police assisting a pro-Chavez group in an attack on an
opposition barricade shot a women in the head, grazing but
not penetrating the skull. Pro-Chavez neighbors warned the
wounded woman not report the incident and destroyed a
visiting friend's car to drive the point home, according to
Sanoja. Alvarado said PROVEA was having particular trouble
tracking prisoners because of releases and new cases,
something he suspected accounts for apparently overstated
numbers in media reports. However, Alvarado cautioned
against "obsessing over the numbers" when the GOV's use of
violent repression was clear.


6. (C) Jose Gregorio Guarenas, Director of the Catholic
Church's Human Rights Office (Vicaria),told poloff March 10
that his staff gathers documentation of the alleged
violation, such as medical reports, pictures of injuries, and
witness statements. The staff member then accompanies the
alleged victim to the Attorney General's Office to file the
complaint, supported by the documentation. According to
Guarenas, the Vicaria works closely with COFAVIC, another
human rights NGO.


7. (C) Guarenas and Correa both acknowledged the importance
of making the official complaint, and Guarenas thought it was
a good sign that Attorney General Isaias Rodriguez had
announced the opening of investigations into 11 torture
cases. Guarenas told poloff, however, that the Attorney
General's Office was clearly acting on behalf of the GOV when
it released ballistics results on the Jose Vilas shooting
without first informing his family. Guarenas also asserted
that GN officers were definitely the shooters in the Vilas
case, based on witness and video evidence.


8. (U) Carlos Nieto, General Coordinator of the prison
watchdog group "A Window to Liberty" said in a March 10 press
statement that nine detainees in La Planta prison were being
treated well and were being kept in an area away from the
general prison population. However, based on his interviews
of the detainees, Nieto said they had been "savagely and
inhumanely tortured by the National Guard" before being
transferred to the prison.

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SELLING THE IMAGE: FULL COURT PRESS
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9. (U) Amid the allegations of human rights abuses, the GOV
has mounted its own campaign, not only to blame the
opposition for injuries among the security forces, but also
for the alleged abuses suffered by the opposition. One day
after the March 1 shooting of opposition protester Jose
Vilas, the Attorney General's Office released ballistics
results purporting to prove that the GN could not have shot
the protester, though eye witnesses disagree. Interior and
Justice Minister Lucas Rincon and Scientific and
Investigative Police (CICPC) Chief Commissioner Marcos Chavez
said in a March 9 joint press conference that none of the
deaths since February 27 can be attributed to the GN,
claiming that the type of bullet, weapon, or both are not GN
standard issue. Information and Communication Minister Jesse
Chacon charged that the private media instigated the
violence.


10. (C) Alejandro Carrillo, Director of Inter-Institutional
Affairs for the Ombudsman, told poloff March 9 that the
opposition has been engaging in violence since February 27,
which gives the GOV the right and duty to respond with force.
Carrillo claimed the Ombudsman has pictures of demonstrators
carrying guns and molotov cocktails during the February 27
march to the G-15 meeting and asserted that burning garbage
in the streets is "a type of violence." "The National
Guard," he said, "is permitted by law to respond to any
violent demonstration with tear gas and plastic bullets," and
he denied that the GN had used metal bullets or other
excessive force.


11. (C) After asserting that the GOV has the right to defend
itself against a violent opposition, Carillo then admitted to
poloff that the Ombudsman couldn't really say with certainty
that opposition marchers had instigated violence. He said

the opposition paid contract killers (sicarios) to shoot
demonstrators and create "chaos and anarchy" but offered no
proof. He declined to comment on opposition allegations of
torture and arrest without due process, saying only that they
are criminal matters under the Attorney General's
jurisdiction. The Ombudsman's only role in such matters, he
explained, is to take statements from the alleged victims and
pass them to the Attorney General.

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COMMENT
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12. (C) The magnitude and credibility of witnessQnd video
accounts of human rights abuses contrasts sharply with the
GOV's attempt to blame the opposition for its own violent
acts. Alvarado's point is well taken: we should not allow
ourselves to become overly preoccupied with bean counting or
allow lack of firm statistical data to prevent us from
recognizing the obvious. The GOV started crossing a
discernible line between applying legitimate and appropriate
force in crowd control and indiscriminately attacking
protesters on February 27 and sprinted past it in the ensuing
days.
SHAPIRO


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2004CARACA00890 - CONFIDENTIAL