MORE ALLEGED INFIGHTING IN THE VENEZUELAN MILITARY

C O N F I D E N T I A L CARACAS 001866 SIPDIS NSC FOR CBARTON HQSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/04/2015 TAGS: PGOV MARR VE SUBJECT: MORE ALLEGED INFIGHTING IN THE VENEZUELAN MILITARY Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ABELARDO A. ARIAS FOR 1.4 (D) ¶1. (C) Summary: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez fired the National Guard General in Bolivar State for corruption June 3 and replaced the National Guard Regional Command June 7 with Army personnel from the Fifth Infantry Division. Opposition media sources have alleged other National Guard units are rebelling over the action, and GOV responses to these claims have been uncoordinated and overstated. No matter how Chavez resolves the fate of the Regional Command, the National Guard will continue to have a presence in the state, as other institutions are currently unfit to handle their wide-ranging law enforcement duties. The situation in Bolivar State shows that the military is not immune to the deterioration plaguing all Venezuelan institutions under Chavez. End summary. ¶2. (C) A special investigative committee set up by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez dismissed National Guard Brig. Gen. Alberto Betancourt Nieves June 3 reportedly because small mining cooperatives in Bolivar State complained to National Assembly legislators in mid-May that National Guard troops had extorted them, destroyed their property, and violated human rights. Army Maj. Gen. Jesus Wilhelm Becerra, now in charge of all state military units, had also raised the reports of corruption with Chavez, according to DAO sources. Chavez deactivated Betancourt's Eighth Regional National Guard Command (CORE 8) on June 7, using army troops from Gen. Wilhelm's Fifth Infantry Division to replace local National Guard forces. CORE 8 personnel protested the army had "humiliated" and "mistreated" them, according to press reports. Chavez also deactivated the local anti-extortion and kidnapping group, National Guard personnel guarding the airport in Ciudad Bolivar, and two other rural commands and detachments, whose weapons were shipped to Caracas. Opposition National Assembly deputy Andres Velasquez (Causa R) complained to reporters about the hasty removal of arms and demanded that the GOV report their destination. ¶3. (U) Anti-Chavez media outlets reported June 13 that National Guard non-commissioned officers acting in solidarity with their CORE 8 counterparts had "taken over" their own CORE 9 headquarters in Amazonas State and had threatened to take over installations of state industries and other Regional Commands. They also reported that some National Guard troops had started a leaflet campaign against CORE 8's deactivation. ¶4. (U) The press also reported June 13 that TO5 commander Maj. Gen. Wilhelm had refused to comment on the alleged abuse of National Guard officers. Information Minister Andres Izarra told reporters there was no discontent in any part of the armed forces. Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel said harmony and normalcy reigned in the military, which had "finished off the (expletive deleted) and soldiers who let themselves be swindled by the old regime." According to June 15 press, the CORE 9 commander, also denying reports of National Guard insurrection, said the Army had taken two posts from the National Guard but had returned them after realizing it had misunderstood orders. Chavez also weighed in, saying he had received a recommendation to replace CORE 8 with TO5 a year ago because of the corruption and irregularities there, but had opted to wait for changes. Upon receiving recent evidence the command was becoming more corrupt, he added, he had decided to act. -------------- Army or National Guard: Which is Worse? -------------- ¶5. (C) When asked which service they would prefer in the region, Embassy contacts tended to opt for the "devil they knew." The director of a center for rancher studies told poloff the Army's presence would be worse than that of the National Guard. He argued that locals understood how to deal with the Guard's corruption but would have additional problems dealing with Army troops, who tended to be younger, urban, less professional soldiers with no law enforcement experience. An active duty National Guard Colonel who did not dismiss reports of Guard corruption adopted a similar stance, telling poloff that substituting Army troops would disrupt a mutually beneficial relationship that the National Guard had established with miners. In exchange for payment, he explained, the Guard protected miners and their caches from kidnappers and thieves. A Venezuelan human rights leader told poloff the Army's behavior would depend on the local commander. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶6. (C) Chavez, a former Army officer, reacted to the CORE 8 incident by placing his more trusted army troops in charge, leaving National Guard officers resentful of the intrusion onto their own lucrative turf. The action is a signal to the other military services that Chavez can bend the rules to get his way. No matter how Chavez resolves the fate of the Regional Command, the National Guard will continue to have a presence in the state, as other institutions are currently unfit to handle their wide-ranging law enforcement duties. The truth about the alleged dissension probably lies somewhere between the alarmist opposition claims and the rosy GOV reports. The conclusion to be drawn from this incident, as expressed in the daily tabloid Tal Cual, is that the military has not escaped the deterioration that is occurring in all Venezuelan institutions. On the contrary, it is a paradigm of the process. Brownfield NNNN 2005CARACA01866 - CONFIDENTIAL