WANTED: BARUTA MAYOR, FOR INCITING CROWD AT CUBAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L CARACAS 000950

SIPDIS


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

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/18/2014
TAGS: PGOV PHUM VE
SUBJECT: WANTED: BARUTA MAYOR, FOR INCITING CROWD AT CUBAN
EMBASSY IN 2002

REF: A. CARACAS 00651


B. 2003 CARACAS 01745

Classified By: Abelardo A. Arias, Political Counselor, for reasons 1.4
(B) and (D)

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Summary
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1. (C) Baruta Mayor Henrique Capriles Radonsky said March 18
he will not present himself to the court as summoned until
after he sees the case file alleging his involvement with a
violent protest at the Cuban Embassy April 12, 2002. The
court has refused Capriles' lawyers access to the case file
and issued an arrest warrant for him March 16. Although
Capriles' case predates the most recent opposition protests,
he may be the first elected opposition leader to face charges
in their aftermath. End Summary.

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Come Out With Your Hands Tied: Mayor Leery of GOV Justice
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2. (U) Prosecutor Danilo Anderson successfully petitioned for
an arrest warrant March 16 for Baruta Mayor Henrique Capriles
Radonsky. Capriles is accused of alleged criminal acts such
as "violating international principles, private violence and
abuse of office" during mob protests at the Cuban Embassy
April 12, 2002. Anderson argued that Capriles' failure to
respond to three summons issued November 28, 2002, January 6,
2003, and March 7, 2003 made him a flight risk. Judge Jose
Ramon Flores (40th Control Court) granted the warrant later
on March 16 and assigned it to the National Investigative
Police (CICPC).

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Good Cop/Bad Cop Prosecutor Plays Keep Away With Case File
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3. (U) Anderson outlined the alleged offenses to reporters
March 17. He denied Capriles was a political target and said
the Mayor's attorneys should have access to his file to
understand the charges. He said the judge would bring
representatives of the defense and prosecution together to
determine if the charges were serious enough to detail
Capriles pending trial. Anderson later warned Capriles to
turn himself in, and stated he didn't need to show Capriles'
attorneys his file before Capriles presented himself to the
court.

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Mayor: Not Without My Case File
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4. (C) Capriles told PolFSN March 17 that his attorney went
the courthouse at 8 p.m. March 16 to inquire about the
warrant, but the court was closed. Capriles said he was
waiting to hear what the charges against him are and that his
attorneys were denied access to his file March 17. Capriles
attorney Arturo Lopez said March 18 that Capriles would
present himself only after his legal team had complete access
to his file. "We can't go to court with our eyes closed."
Capriles called the case proof of "the political persecution
against those who do not share the government's vision" and
blasted Anderson as a political lackey of the GOV. Justice
First president Julio Borges told reporters March 17 the case
is baseless and an attempt by the GOV to divert attention
from the presidential recall referendum process.

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Was the Mayor Peacemaker or Instigator?
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5. (C) During the events of April 11-14, when President
Chavez briefly lost power, an angry crowd gathered in front
the Cuban Embassy in Baruta looking for a pro-GOV leaders
suspected of hiding inside. The crowd damaged embassy
vehicles and cut electricity and water lines. Mayor Capriles
told PolFSN he entered the Embassy to restore calm and
disperse the crowd, but has been portrayed as instigating
violence by the GOV-run television channel. Newspapers at


the time reported that Capriles, Chacao Mayor Leopoldo Lopez,
and former Chief of the Metropolitan Police Henry Vivas went
to the Cuban Embassy to determine if GOV officials were
seeking asylum.


6. (U) The Cuban Embassy in Caracas released a statement
supporting the investigation and denying Borges' contention
that Cuban Ambassador German Sanchez Otero asked Capriles to
mediate April 12, 2002, and had praised him for doing so. It
also asserted that "terrorist and fascist groups" vandalized
the Embassy while Capriles' police watched, under orders not
to interfere. Capriles responded to the Cuban note saying
the Ambassador lacked "the honesty to say what really
happened." Capriles contended he was only guilty of having
differences with the GOV.

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Comment
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7. (C) The GOV has long had Capriles in its sights. In the
Capriles case, Anderson is in his mettle as GOV hatchet man
(refs). If the case he is pressing against 24 residents of
Merida who also have not had access to their files for civil
rebellion charges is any indication, a prompt resolution to
the Capriles case is not the offing. In the meantime, it
serves the GOV to have a new high-profile "fugitive from
justice" against whom to rail. The investigations against
opposition leaders, regardless of when the alleged misdeeds
occurred, also fits into the GOV's strategy of blaming the
opposition for violence.


8. (C) That said, we do not have sufficient information at
this time to evaluate the GOV and Cuban allegations against
Capriles.

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Ambassador's Comment
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9. (C) Anderson may have done Mayor Capriles a favor by
making him a hero. If he were to turn himself in to
"Bolivarian justice," Capriles' political future would be
assured and the opposition would have a cause celebre. That
said, Venezuelan jails are miserable and one would be crazy
not to hesitate before turning oneself in.
SHAPIRO


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2004CARACA00950 - CONFIDENTIAL