Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05CARACAS2206
2005-07-22 18:35:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Caracas
Cable title:  

CARDINAL'S COMMENTS DRAW CHAVEZ'S IRE

Tags:  PGOV PHUM PREL VE 
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C O N F I D E N T I A L CARACAS 002206 

SIPDIS


NSC FOR CBARTON
USCINCSO ALSO FOR POLAD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/25/2014
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL VE
SUBJECT: CARDINAL'S COMMENTS DRAW CHAVEZ'S IRE

Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ABELARDO A. ARIAS FOR
REASONS 1.4 (d)

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SUMMARY
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C O N F I D E N T I A L CARACAS 002206

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NSC FOR CBARTON
USCINCSO ALSO FOR POLAD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/25/2014
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL VE
SUBJECT: CARDINAL'S COMMENTS DRAW CHAVEZ'S IRE

Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ABELARDO A. ARIAS FOR
REASONS 1.4 (d)

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SUMMARY
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1. (C) Retired Cardinal Rosalio Castillo Lara called the GOV
a dictatorship and elections a farce in an interview
published July 17, prompting President Hugo Chavez to call
the prelate a bandit, coupster, devil, and a hypocrite on his
Alo Presidente broadcast later that same day. Church and
opposition leaders spoke out in support of Castillo Lara and
condemned Chavez's attack on the Cardinal. Earlier in
mid-July, Venezuela's Catholic leadership reasserted the
Church's right to speak out on societal issues and strongly
criticized the GOV's human rights record at the 84th assembly
of the Venezuelan Episcopal Conference (CEV). The GOV
dismissed both the CEV and its criticisms as being out of
touch with reality. End Summary.

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Cardinal Makes A Statement
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2. (U) Cardinal Rosalio Castillo Lara, in a full-page
interview July 17 in Caracas daily El Universal, said
Venezuela was neither a democracy nor a state of law.
Responding to President Hugo Chavez's claim that the
Bolivarian Republic was "closer to the way of Christ" than
any previous Venezuelan government, Castillo Lara declared
that, "To the contrary, I believe this government is the most
terrible government Venezuela has had since it came into
existence as a republic." Castillo Lara posited that
Venezuelans are living under a "dictatorship" and that they
should act "according to article 350 of the constitution" and
"reject this government." When questioned as to whether he
viewed elections as an effective means of change, Castillo
Lara responded that the Venezuelan electoral council (CNE)
was not trustworthy and that therefore elections could only
be "an organized farce of the state."


3. (U) In the interview, Castillo Lara clarified that, as a
retired cardinal, he could not speak on behalf of the
Catholic Church. However, he claimed that the rest of the
Church leadership shared his perspective on President
Chavez's attempts to eliminate opposition elements and
concentrate power. He also stated that President Chavez's

attempts to divide the Catholic leadership against itself by
granting favors to some and not to others had failed, and
that the Church stood united.

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Chavez Takes The Bait
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4. (U) President Chavez responded to Castillo Lara's remarks
during his Alo Presidente broadcast July 17. He directed his
response at newly arrived papal nuncio, Giacinto Berloco, and
held Castillo Lara out as an example of why the GOV could not
have good relations with the Church leadership. "It's not my
fault.", Chavez said, "Look at the history of what has
occurred, and this is just one more example...it's an attack
against the people by those who come representing god but
have the devil inside." During his remarks, Chavez referred
to Castillo Lara as the "bandit cardinal" and described him
at various points in his monologue as being a devil, immoral,
hypocrite and a go-between for the bandits of the governments
of AD and COPEI. He also accused both Castillo Lara and the
Catholic Church leadership of being "coupsters." Towards the
end of the program, President Chavez touched again on
Castillo Lara's remarks, and declared that if Christ was
alive today, he would "grab a whip and find that bandit and
would whip him across the face for betraying the Catholic
faith."

-------------- --------------
Church, Opposition Condemn Chavez's 'Impropriety'
-------------- --------------


5. (U) Castillo Lara responded to Chavez's personal attack
against him on a television broadcast July 17, stating that
"(Chavez's remarks) offend me as an honorable person",
however "those types of insults do not constitute a response
(to my criticisms)." The following day, Archbishop of Coro
Robert Luckert and Venezuelan Episcopal Conference (CEV)
Secretary General Bishop Jose Luis Azuaje publicly supported

SIPDIS
Castillo Lara and condemned President Chavez's attack against
him. Luckert said Chavez had no right to call Castillo Lara
a coupster, seeing as how he was one himself, and that
Chavez's insults were "lacking in education, culture and
tact." Azuaje affirmed Castillo Lara's right to express his
views as a Venezuelan citizen and condemned both President
Chavez as well as the government officials who "...applauded
those insults, because that is not a good example for the
Venezuelan people."


6. (U) Chavez opponents such as Eduardo Fernandez, President
of COPEI, denounced "the inconsiderate and disrespectful
language" with which the President referred to Castillo Lara
and claimed that "The vast majority of Venezuelans are
offended by this attack." Fernandez urged Chavez to "act
like a President and not like a thug from the barrio always
picking fights." Victor Bolivar, Vice-President of Accion
Democratica, rejected the "rude and intolerant" manner in
which President Chavez had defamed the Cardinal.

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Other GOV Leaders Silent On Cardinal
--------------


7. (U) GOV leadership remained largely silent regarding
President Chavez's attack on the Cardinal. Two deputies
participated in a National Assembly debate over whether to
form a special commission to investigate how President Chavez
had violated the law with his statements. In opposing the
motion, MVR deputy Iris Varela added to President Chavez's
insults, calling Castillo Lara a "hired assassin" for the
"coupster Catholic oligarchy." The Assembly rejected the
motion.

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Bishops Speak Out At Bi-Annual Conference
--------------


8. (U) Prior to the rift over the Cardinal's comments,
Venezuelan Episcopal Conference (CEV) President Baltazar
Porras opened the group's 84th session with remarks in which
he denounced the GOV's efforts to silence the Church, and
reasserted the Church's right to "...be heard and taken into
account, without reprisals." The bishops ratified these
sentiments in a communiqu issued at the conference's close.
The bishops reiterated Porras' stance that the "fight for
freedom, justice, solidarity, reconciliation and peace is the
irrenounceable duty of the Church", and warned that judicial
partisanship could result in a situation of "legalized
injustice." (The Cardinal, in his interview, asserted that
Venezuela is already at the point of "legalized injustice.")
Among other criticisms, the bishops' statement denounced
security force abuses, the high crime rate, the prison
crisis, and the existence of political prisoners. Regarding
this last point, the bishops called on President Chavez to
ratify the petition presented by the CEV at the beginning of
the year and pardon those accused and detained for political
reasons.

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GOV Dismisses Bishops As 'Out of Touch'
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9. (U) President Chavez dismissed the CEV's statement as
proof that the Catholic leadership was "disconnected from
reality" in statements to the press July 13. Adopting a
semi-pious tone, he stated that he was "really sorry for (the
bishops)" and hoped that god would pardon them because "they
are only human and make mistakes." He portrayed the GOV as
the victim of Church aggression, stating that the "Catholic
hierarchy never tires of attacking (us)", and claimed that
"there has never been a government in Venezuela closer to the
way of Christ than the Bolivarian Republic." Vice-President
Jose Vincente Rangel echoed President Chavez in statements
made July 14, declaring that he too could not understand how
there could be an anti-chavista Church, and claiming that "it
is the Church that is picking fights with the government."

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Comment
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10. (C) After months of silence, the Venezuelan Catholic
Church has once again proven its willingness to speak out
against GOV abuses. The Church leadership's public defense
of Cardinal Castillo Lara's statements to the press is a
potent indication of the Church's renewed willingness to
oppose the GOV publicly and directly. This approach, if it
continues, could better position the Church as one of the
country's few remaining real counter-balances to the GOV's
growing centralization of power. Although it is an approach
which does not appear to coincide with the Vatican's recent
decision to pursue a path of openness and dialogue with the
GOV, it is one that is resounding among some Chavez opponents
who conclude that given Castillo Lara's long Vatican history
and reputed closeness to the new Pope, he can only be acting
with the Holy See's blessing.
Brownfield


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2005CARACA02206 - CONFIDENTIAL