CHAVEZ VETOES PENAL CODE REFORM

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CARACAS 000486

SIPDIS

NSC FOR CBARTON
USCINCSO ALSO FOR POLAD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/25/2014
TAGS: PHUM PGOV KJUS VE
SUBJECT: CHAVEZ VETOES PENAL CODE REFORM

REF: CARACAS 00168

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

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Summary
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1. (U) On February 3 President Hugo Chavez vetoed
amendments to Venezuela's Penal Code approved by the National
Assembly on January 6, according to press reports and public
statements by various legislators. In vetoing the
legislation, the President returns the bill to the Assembly
with observations for correction. According to press
reports, the observations concern the constitutionality of
measures to eliminate bail and alternative sentencing options
for several crimes, and the vague drafting of other articles.
End Summary.

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Veto Reported
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2. (U) President Hugo Chavez vetoed amendments to
Venezuela's Penal Code on February 3 that the National
Assembly passed on January 6 (reftel),according to
Venezuelan press reports. The president has veto power under
article 214 of the constitution, which requires him to return
the law to the National Assembly with specific well reasoned
objections within ten days of passage of legislation. The
Assembly can then accept or reject the observations of the
executive. The document containing the veto was not
distributed to deputies until February 10. The principal
objection, per news accounts, was the elimination of bail and
parole provisions for several felonies, including theft and
robbery, and the vagueness with which other articles were
drafted.

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Prison Crisis
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3. (U) An anonymous source at the Solicitor General's
office told daily newspaper El Universal February 8 that the
veto was related to the prison crisis in the country. At the
end of 2004 a nationwide hunger strike broke out in
Venezuela's prisons, protesting the extremely poor
conditions, overcrowding, violence and lack of access to
alternatives to prison for many prisoners until they have
completed half their sentence. The amendments would have
eliminated procedural "benefits" for several categories of
common crime, including theft, rape, murder, and kidnapping,
as well as for conspiracy against government, sabotage, and
aiding subversion. These benefits include the right to be
released on bail pending trial, the right to alternatives to
prison if convicted, and parole. Movimiento al Socialismo
(MAS) Deputy Nicolas Sosa noted February 9 that the
amendments would make it harder to release prisoners just
when the executive was negotiating with prisoners on how to
relieve overcrowding in prisons and ease access to prison
alternatives.


4. (U) Opponents of President Chavez had argued in the
National Assembly during debates on the amendments that the
benefits were in the constitution, as rights, and that the
Organic Criminal Procedure Law could not be modified by a
criminal code reform. According to El Universal's source in
the Solicitor General's office, that the suppression of the
benefits is unconstitutional is one of the main points of the
executive veto.

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Lack of Communication?
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5. (C) Movimiento Quinta Republica (MVR) Deputy Luis Tascon
told reporters February 9 that the president's objection to
the amendments was based on constitutional grounds. Tascon
blamed lack of communication among the different governmental
powers, specifically the Assembly and the Supreme Court and
Solicitor General's office for the President's veto. MVR
Deputy Calixto Ortega, on the other hand, said the veto
illustrated the independence of the legislative branch
vis-a-vis the executive branch. "This serves to show that it
is false that the legislature only does what Miraflores
wants," Ortega said. On December 15 Tascon's assistant
Fernando Avila told PolOff that Tascon and Ortega were among
the MVR Deputies who had strongly objected to the amendments,
pushed by MVR Deputy Iris Varela and the pro-Chavez Assembly
leadership. Varela told reporters February 10 that all the
executive's objections would be accepted, and that the new
version of the bill was almost ready. She played down the
importance of the veto and the seriousness of the objections.
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Opposition Reaction
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6. (U) Opposition legislators welcomed the veto. Movement
to Socialism (MAS) Secretary General and Deputy Leopoldo
Puchi told reporters it presented an opportunity to correct
errors. Primero Justicia (PJ) Deputy Gerardo Blyde pointed
out the opposition had made the same critique of the bill the
executive was now making. He said PJ would now push for a
total reform of the penal code, rather than modifying the
amendments. Blyde speculated that concern within the
executive over the international reaction to the amendments
may have prompted the veto.

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Comment
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7. (C) The Executive's objections to the amendments have
not yet been made public, so it is not clear which provisions
are in question. Most of the information available, however,
supports the version that the objections relate to the
potential aggravation of the prison situation rather than to
concern about violation or abuse of human rights. For now,
nonetheless, the veto puts on hold legal provisions that
would have serious human rights implications.
Brownfield