GUILTY RULING IN "CASO KENNEDY" - BRV TRIES TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CARACAS 002762

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

HQSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD
DEPT PASS TO AID/OTI RPORTER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/07/2016
TAGS: PGOV KDEM VE
SUBJECT: GUILTY RULING IN "CASO KENNEDY" - BRV TRIES TO
APPEAR TOUGH ON CRIME?

REF: CARACAS 939

CARACAS 00002762 001.3 OF 002


Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ROBERT R. DOWNES FOR 1.4 (D)

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Summary
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1. (C) One of Caracas' more controversial criminal cases,
the 2005 murder of three university students at a police
roadblock, reached its pre-appellate conclusion August 31
with the sentencing of 24 police officers. The case
epitomizes Venezuela's security problem, police corruption
and resulting political confrontation. With crime an
enormous problem and a popular sentiment that the government
has been too slow to respond, the BRV is already using this
resolution to try to argue that it has turned the corner in
confronting violent crime. End Summary.

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The Crime
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2. (SBU) In June 2005, a vehicle carrying six university
students encountered an armed roadblock manned by police
officers in the Kennedy neighborhood of Caracas. Apparently
not recognizing the individuals as police officers, the
students attempted to flee. The officers pursued the
students' car and apprehended them after they had stopped to
ask for help. All unarmed, one student was shot in the
street, and two others were tied up, beaten and riddled with
gunshots in an alley. Three others received gunshot wounds
but survived. Police reports indicated that at least 13
bullets struck their vehicle.

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The Response
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3. (SBU) Seven months after the murders, prosecutors brought
charges against 24 security officers for involvement in the
crime. By the time trial testimony was heard in May 2006, 24
officials from the Military Intelligence Division (DIM),the
Scientific and Investigative Police (CICPC) and the metro
Caracas Police were charged with premeditated murder,
unlawful use of firearms, and charges related to the
doctoring of the crime scene (essentially engineering a
cover-up). In a country where police violence is rampant,
the attack against six unarmed college students nonetheless
stirred the emotions of the community, and ignited protests.
With tensions running high, the Public Ministry ordered
bodyguards for the case's four prosecutors after they and
military police witnesses began receiving death threats.


4. (SBU) Following the killings, the government responded by
speeding up the review of the proposed National Police Law
(subsequently again set aside and still not under National
Assembly consideration),and President Chavez promised
justice and a "cleaning up" of the police corps. Attorney
General Isaias Rodriguez accused the DIM of tampering with
evidence, and he ordered a review of Minister of the Interior
and Justice Jesse Chacon's police records to explore
accusations that the defendants had called Chacon the night
of the murders and received instructions regarding a
cover-up. In response to Chacon's grumbling that the
prosecution in Caso Kennedy was excessive, Rodriguez issued
public critiques of a systematic "police perversion" that
went beyond this one case.


5. (SBU) Delays in the proceedings were numerous, as has
become commonplace in many highly publicized trials in
Venezuela. The court postponed multiple hearings due to a
failure of the defense to show up to court, and judges were
removed and replaced (a practice similar to that which Post
reported as occurring several times in the controversial
trial of Baruta Mayor Henrique Capriles Radonski (ref)).
After a year of pre-trial hearings and three months of
testimony, the judge on August 31 handed down sentences
ranging from three to 30 years. Now that the verdicts have
been issued, defense attorneys say they will appeal based on
a lack of evidence and a perceived failure to adequately
determine each defendant's level of responsibility.

CARACAS 00002762 002.3 OF 002



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Comment
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6. (C) One of the areas where Chavez's approval ratings are
dropping and public concern is increasing is in regards to
the escalating crime rate. The BRV is making attempts at
damage control - the National Assembly just passed amendments
to the CICPC Law which toughen penalties for corrupt and
violent officers. It may also try to use the issue to push
the National Police Law, which further centralizes national
control but is unlikely to have much impact on crime.
However, with a worsening crime rate and the elections just
around the corner, the positive result in the Caso Kennedy
trial might serve Chavez and the BRV well as "proof" that
personal security matters to the government.

WHITAKER