VENEZUELAN POLITICAL PROSECUTIONS UPDATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L CARACAS 001389

SIPDIS


NSC FOR CBARTON
USCINCSO ALSO FOR POLAD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/04/2015
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KJUS VE
SUBJECT: VENEZUELAN POLITICAL PROSECUTIONS UPDATE

Classified By: A/DCM ABELARDO A. ARIAS FOR REASONS 1.4 (d)

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Summary
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1. (U) Venezuelan judges will soon open hearings to decide
whether Venezuelan Workers' Confederation President Carlos
Ortega, detained since March 1 2005, and former Miranda
Governor Enrique Mendoza will stand trial for civil
rebellion. A judge in Aragua is in the midst of hearings to
decide whether to send former Caracas Metropolitan Police
officials Lazaro Forero, Henry Vivas, and Ivan Simonovis, all
detained since late 2004, to trial for conspiracy to commit
murder in relation with the events of April 2002. The Penal
Chamber of the Supreme Court reinstated the conviction of
Gen. Carlos Alfonzo Martinez, making him once again subject
to court restrictions on his movement and speech. A judge
April 12 convicted journalist Patricia Poleo of defaming
Interior Minister Jesse Chacon, and sentenced her to six
months in prison, though she is free pending appeal. There
have been no recent developments in the investigation into
the murder of prosecutor Danilo Anderson, or in the case
against Gen. Felipe Rodriguez, presently in custody in Yare
prison. End Summary.

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Enrique Mendoza
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2. (U) Prosecutors Jose Benigno Rojas and Gledys Carpio
formally opened an investigation of former Miranda Governor
and Democratic Coordinating Committee leader Enrique Mendoza
March 14. The charges are civil rebellion, conspiracy,
instigation to commit crimes, incitement to disobey the law,
damage to public buildings, using violence to prevent the
functioning of the public powers, and interruption of
telecommunications. All stem from Mendoza's alleged
involvement in the closure of Venezuelan de Television on
April 11, 2002. On April 26 the judge postponed Mendoza's
next hearing indefinitely, at the request of Mendoza's lawyer
who alleged that the accusation was excessively vague.
Mendoza is not subject to any court ordered restrictions at
this time.


3. (C) Mendoza aide Alejandro Garcia told PolCouns May 4
that after the April 26 hearing the former Governor fears
that the court will order his detention at the next
opportunity. Garcia said Mendoza has asked various
Coordinadora associates with international connections to be
prepared to advocate for him with other governments should he
be jailed. Asked what had led to Mendoza's changed
perception since he had told the Ambassador previously that
the GOV would prefer to harass rather than incarcerate him,
Garcia said only that they had new information from inside
sources.

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Carlos Ortega
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4. (U) Prosecutor Luisa Ortega on April 12 formally accused
Venezuelan Workers' Confederation President Carlos Ortega
with civil rebellion, instigation to commit crimes, and using
a false public document. Ortega has been detained since his
arrest on March 1, and is now in Ramo Verde military prison.
The next hearing is scheduled for May 6.


5. (C) Prosecutor Maria del Rocio Gasperi, who is not
directly involved in the case but has access to the case
file, told poloff April 20 that the evidence presented proves
nothing, and that fellow prosecutor Ortega had not conducted
a serious investigation. Gasperi said she asked the judge if
she would allow the case to go to trial despite the
shortcomings. The judge said yes, according to Gasperi,
citing intense political pressure.

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Vivas, Forero, and Simonovis
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6. (U) Carlos Bastides, Ivan Simonovis's defense lawyer,
told reporters May 3 he expected one more day of hearings
before a judge rules whether Henry Vivas, Lazaro Forero, and

Simonovis are to stand trial as "necessary accomplices in
complicity to commit murder", in relation to the deaths of
two persons on April 11, 2002. Prosecutor Luisa Ortega
alleges that the three former leaders of the Metropolitan
Police (PM) ordered PM officers to open fire on Chavez
supporters who confronted the opposition march on April 11,

2002. Simonovis was in charge of Security for Greater
Caracas, Vivas was head of the PM, and Forero was his deputy.
Bastides told reporters he has little hope that the judge
will not send the case to trial, given the political nature
of the prosecution, but said he hoped the judge would allow
the defendants to be tried in liberty, given that three
Chavez supporters who turned themselves in recently in
relation to the April 2002 events were released on bail.


7. (C) Jose Luis Tamayo, defense lawyer for Vivas and
Forero, told poloff February 1 that the prosecution has no
evidence on which to base its accusation against Vivas,
Forero and Simonovis. The case, he asserted, is based on
recycled evidence from the accusation against eight PM
officers for killing two people on April 11, 2002. Tamayo
alleges that murdered prosecutor Danilo Anderson offered to
free the eight PM officers (they have been held for over two
years) if they implicated Vivas, Forero and Simonovis. On
April 27 Merlin Morales, lawyer representing the alleged
victims, called for eight other PM officials to be accused,
alleging that Forero had implicated them in his testimony.
Tamayo angrily denied this to reporters, saying Forero had
simply named the local PM commanders in response to a
question from the judge.

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Gen. Carlos Alfonzo Martinez
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8. (U) The Penal Chamber of the Supreme Court April 14
revoked the October 2004 Appeals Court ruling throwing out
all criminal charges against Gen. Carlos Alfonzo Martinez.
The decision, written by former military Prosecutor General
now President of the Penal Chamber Eladio Aponte Aponte, is
based on the prosecution's claim that 2nd Appeals Court Judge
Jesus Ollarves acted improperly when he rejected a motion to
recuse himself and another judge from the case. The decision
reinstates the conviction of Gen. Alfonzo for violating
security zones (for which he had been sentenced to five years
probation, and forbidden to speak with the media),and orders
the original appeal to be reheard by another appeals court.
On May 2 the 4th Appeals Court was assigned to hear the
appeal again. The Commission of Judicial Restructuring ruled
April 21 that Ollarves should be investigated for his
decision not to accept a prosecution demand that he separate
himself from the case.

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Patricia Poleo
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9. (U) A Caracas court found journalist Patricia Poleo
guilty of defaming Interior Minister Jesse Chacon April 12,
and sentenced her to six months in prison. The charges
related to Poleo's publication of a photograph that allegedly
showed Chacon standing over someone killed at the Venezuelan
Television offices during the February 1992 coup attempt.
Poleo is free pending appeal. It is unclear whether she will
have to serve jail time for this conviction.

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Anderson and El Cuervo Cases Stalled
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10. (U) There have been no new developments in the Anderson
murder investigation. Two of the three suspects in custody,
the former police inspectors Otoniel and Roland Guevara, were
transferred from DISIP headquarters, where they had been
detained since their arrest, to the Yare II prison, defense
lawyer Pedro Castillo told reporters April 28. Gen. Felipe
Rodriguez was charged with civil rebellion, instigation of
rebellion, conspiracy against the president, illegally
carrying a weapon, bombing a diplomatic mission, conspiracy,
and assault on March 6. He was transferred from Military
Intelligence headquarters to Yare I March 21, despite a court
order that he be transferred to the military prison Ramo
Verde. His family has public charged that he is being held
in extremely poor conditions.

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Comment
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11. (C) The GOV is aggressively pursing the former
opposition leadership through judicial prosecutions. While
these cases may follow the forms of due process, first hand
reports of the prosecution cases and judicial decisions
indicate that the cases are political in nature. The
political control exerted by the GOV over prosecutors and
judges effectively denies political defendants the right to
defend themselves, or the presumption of innocence. If
Mendoza, Ortega, Alfonzo Martinez, Vivas, Forero, and
Simonovis are not convicted, it will be as a result of a
political decision, not because the defendants will have
prevailed in a fair fight.
McFarland


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2005CARACA01389 - CONFIDENTIAL