UPDATE ON INVESTIGATION INTO VENEZUELAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CARACAS 000221

SIPDIS

NOFORN

NSC FOR CBARTON
USCINCSO ALSO FOR POLAD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/25/2014
TAGS: PGOV PTER KJUS VE
SUBJECT: UPDATE ON INVESTIGATION INTO VENEZUELAN
PROSECUTOR'S KILLING


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

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SUMMARY
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1. (C) On January 13 Venezuelan prosecutors formally
accused three suspects as the material authors of the murder
of Venezuelan prosecutor Danilo Anderson. According to
information investigators provided EmbOffs, there are no
solid leads as to the intellectual authors of the crime. (The
investigators have sought limited U.S. law enforcement
assistance which we are providing.) Focusing on one
possibility, Venezuelan Interior Minister Jesse Chacon
announced January 4 that investigators had found indications
that lawyers close to Anderson were extorting money from some
of the 400 people Anderson was investigating for signing the
Carmona Decree. According to press reports, prosecutors took
the case away from the police team that was investigating on
January 21, for the second time since Anderson's death. DEA
reports that the lead inspector was removed, and the case
files seized by prosecutors on January 22. End Summary.

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Guevaras Accused
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2. (U) On January 13 prosecutors filed a formal accusation
against the brothers Rolando and Otoniel Guevara, and their
cousin Juan Bautista Guevara as the material authors of the
death of prosecutor Danilo Anderson, which occurred on
November 18, 2004. Two other suspects were killed by police
in the days following the assassination. Arrest warrants were
also issued for two other suspects, Pedro Lander and Johan
Pena. Newspaper reports mention other possible suspects, but
authorities have taken no action.

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Intellectual Authors?
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3. (U) Attorney General Isaias Rodriguez told reporters
January 5 that prosecutors are still investigating several
different theories about who may have ordered the
assassination of Anderson. According to press reports, there
is no information in the case file against the Guevara that
indicates why Anderson was killed. Most of the evidence in
the case consists of phone records, witnesses who place the
suspects at the scene of the crime, and testimony from one
Venezuelan citizen in Miami.

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Cooperation
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4. (C) GOV investigators approached post DEA
representatives in December to request their assistance in
the case. The contact was a member of the DEA vetted unit who
is also a member of the team investigating the case. GOV
investigators requested assistance in contacting and taking
testimony from a source in Miami, who had allegedly contacted
them about the case. DEA agreed to assist based on past
allegations of drug smuggling activity by the suspects in the
case. A DEA agent in Miami accompanied a GOV delegation to
Miami. The delegation spoke with the source in the Venezuelan
Consulate in Miami, without the agent being present. The GOV
delegation then returned to Venezuela.


5. (C) LegAtt was briefed by GOV investigators, and
reported there are multiple theories about why Anderson was
killed, and who may have ordered it. At least one of these
theories, based on the evidence given by the source in Miami,
places the intellectual authors in the U.S. U.S. law
enforcement authorities are collaborating with the Venezuelan
investigation, including looking for Lander and Pena in the
U.S. LegAtt is also working with the FBI Miami field office
on a possible Neutrality Act violation on the part of the
alleged material authors, and using this to start an
independent investigation, and question the Venezuelan source
in Miami.

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Of Rebellion and Extortion
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5. (C) Immediately after the assassination, GOV officials
suggested the intellectual authors were either linked to the
military officers from Plaza Altamira, or to the opposition
leaders being investigated by Anderson in relation to the
events of April 11, 2002. On January 4, however, Interior
Minister Jesse Chacon revealed that investigators were now
looking into the possibility that lawyers linked to Anderson
were extorting money from some of the 400 suspects in the
Carmona Decree case. Chacon described a system involving two
groups of lawyers, one linked to Anderson, and the other to
bankers being investigated. Chacon neither confirmed nor
denied Anderson's involvement. Attorney General Isaias
Rodriguez confirmed the investigation January 5, but denied
Anderson had been involved. Fernando Avila, assistant to
Deputy Luis Tascon (Movimiento Quinta Republica) told PolOff
January 18 that President Chavez was furious over the
possibility that Anderson might be involved in corruption.

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Case File Seized
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6. (C) Press reports on January 21 said that the
prosecutors investigating the case were reorganizing the
police team in charge of the case. This is the second such
reorganization since the investigation began. According to
DEA, prosecutors raided the police headquarters where the
investigating team was based, and seized the case files on
January 22.

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Comment
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7. (C) The Anderson case is turning into an embarrassment
for the GOV. Anderson was turned into a hero of the
revolution following his death, and the authorities promised
quick and exemplary punishment of the material and
intellectual authors. While they have killed two suspects and
have claimed to have captured or identified the material
authors, the investigation of the intellectual authors has
bogged down. Meanwhile there are indications -- of
undetermined credibility -- that Anderson was dirty, and
could have been killed in a a very unheroic settling of
scores. U.S. law enforcement representatives at post believe
the possible violation of the Neutrality Act with regards to
Anderson's killing, based upon GOV information, could provide
the basis for a U.S. investigation. In the meantime, they are
cooperating with Venezuelan investigators in the spirit of
the signed, but not yet in force, Mutual Legal Assistance
Treaty.
BROWNFIELD