VENEZUELA POLITICAL PROSECUTIONS: SIMONOVIS,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 CARACAS 002826

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

HQSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD
DEPT PASS TO AID/OTI RPORTER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/18/2016
TAGS: PHUM PGOV KDEM VE
SUBJECT: VENEZUELA POLITICAL PROSECUTIONS: SIMONOVIS,
VIVAS, AND FORERO

REF: A. 05 CARACAS 02633


B. 05 CARACAS 01389

C. 03 CARACAS 01746

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

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Summary
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1. (C) On September 6, Poloffs attended the ongoing trial of
former Caracas Metropolitan Police officials Ivan Simonovis,
Henry Vivas, and Lazarro Forero, and eight other police
officers, who are being charged as accomplices to murder for
events related to the civil disturbances and the temporary
interregnum of April 2002. So far, the prosecution has been
unable to link the defendants to any of the injuries or
deaths, despite testimony from dozens of medical and crime
scene experts over the past six months. Poloffs observed a
number of irregularities which suggest the government's case
is weak. Although the crime happened in Caracas, the trial
is taking place some 70 miles away in Maracay, Aragua State,
presumably to draw attention away from the case. Poloffs
will continue to follow the trial of this politically
motivated prosecution. End Summary.

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Background
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2. (U) Poloffs attended the ongoing trial of former Caracas
Metropolitan Police officials Ivan Simonovis, Henry Vivas,
and Lazarro Forero September 6. They, along with eight other
Metropolitan policemen, are charged as "necessary accomplices
in complicity to commit murder and injury" in relation to two
deaths and several casualties during demonstrations in
downtown Caracas on April 11, 2002. At the time, Simonovis
served as Secretary for Security in Greater Caracas, Vivas
was head of the Caracas Metropolitan Police, and Forero was
Vivas' deputy. The defendants say they were trying to keep
opposition and pro-government marches separated that day and
did not shoot at the crowd. On the contrary, they say many
people shot at them and their trucks show hundreds of bullet
holes. Press reports of the day's events indicate there were
many people shooting and the government has been accused by
some opposition members of calling out sharpshooters who were
responsible for most of the injuries and deaths. The
policemen's case was submitted to the IACHR, which agreed to
review it last spring.

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US Connection Turned Against Defendant
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3. (C) In addition to his connection to former Caracas
Metropolitan Mayor and Chavez foe Alfredo Pena, Simonovis may
also be targeted for U.S. ties. While Secretary of Security,
he worked with William Bratton, the Police Commissioner who
oversaw former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's crime plan,
to develop a similar plan for Caracas. A Venezuelan
prosecutor told Bony Simonovis, the ex-official's wife and
lawyer, that because of that connection, the BRV knows her
husband was a CIA spy and that's one of the reasons he's
being prosecuted.

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Trial Observations Suggest Irregularities
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4. (C) Poloffs were invited to observe the trial by Mrs.
Simonovis and her colleague, Carlos Bastides. Bastides is a
well-known criminal lawyer who has participated in several
high-profile cases, including those of the Tachira 9 and
General Felipe Rodriguez (refs a and b). The Embassy is also
expanding its program of observing politically motivated
prosecutions. The trial began in March 2006 and is being
held in Maracay--almost 70 miles from Caracas--presumably to
draw attention away from the poorly-substantiated case and to
facilitate BRV attempts to condemn the officers. So far,
prosecutors have been unable to link the defendants to any of
the injuries or deaths, despite testimony from dozens of
medical and crime scene experts. Victims and eye witnesses
have yet to testify, but some of them have privately told the
defense team that they know the defendants were not involved,
Mrs. Simonovis said. Poloffs' observations, in addition to

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conversations with the lawyers and some of the defendants,
suggest the trial is merely a political show.

-- The trial was supposed to begin at 9 am, but neither the
judge, nor prosecutors showed until 11:30 am. Simonovis said
this has been normal practice for them, but the defense
arrives on time concerned the government will pull something
if they don't. At 1 pm, the judge called for lunch recess to
end "between 2:30 and 3:00 pm" (direct quote) because of the
threat of rain. The judge and prosecutors returned from
lunch around 3:45 pm.

--The witness came with the prosecution in an official
vehicle.

--The witness, a ballistics expert, had trouble answering
basic questions about the average shooting range of police
weapons. Although he interviewed some of the victims,
investigated their wounds, and visited the crime scene, he
could not determine if any of them were shot at an
angle--sharpshooters and government supporters were thought
to be on the Llaguno Bridge and nearby rooftops--nor could he
verify when the injuries occurred. The witness also claimed
that someone with a bullet wound that went east to west was
shot from a south-ward direction.

--After the recess, the prosecution informed the judge that
the witness had become ill while they were having lunch with
him and had left, as he came, in the prosecution's official
vehicle. They were unsure if he would appear the next day.
Mrs. Simonovis later told us the expert did return to testify
the next day, but because of his impeached credibility, the
prosecution is moving on to other witnesses and will call him
back later.

--The defense told us Simonovis was not actually at the scene
April 11, but prosecutors claim they have a tape of him
giving the order to shoot. However, they refuse to submit
the tape for voice analysis.

--Comparisons with other related trials bolsters claims of
politicization: The eleven defendants are being tried under
detention, while four government supporters who were actually
videotaped while shooting at the opposition were tried in
liberty in 2003 (ref c). A judge later acquitted them,
claiming they were acting in self-defense. Chavez responded
by praising their actions in confronting "sharpshooters and
terrorists dressed up as police." More recently, other
pro-Chavez defendants in a separate but related case were
also free pending trial, although two of them initially had
evaded arrest.

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Decent, But Never Certain, Prison Conditions
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5. (SBU) The defendants have been in jail in Caracas for
approximately two years, the police officers for three-and-a
half. Simonovis, who is being held in a DISIP cell,
described to us their treatment of him as an 8 on a scale of
1 (the worst) to 10 (the best). He gave the quarters a 5.
He is allowed family visits two days a week and can see his
lawyers Thursday mornings; he doesn't have any time outside.
The eight officers are being held together in Caracas,
Parque Carabobo jail. They are held separately from other
prisoners and have occasional internet access. Mrs.
Simonovis told us she and other family members give food to
the guards who transport the defendants to ensure they
actually bring them to the court and do not mistreat them on
the way.

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Comment
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6. (C) No one will probably ever be able to accurately
determine responsibility for most of the violence during the
chaos of April 2002, but for the BRV, the outcome of this and
other cases related to April 2002, are essential to
supporting the way Chavez wants history recorded. Those that
supported him were revolutionary heroes and should be
vindicated. Dissenters or those working for opposition
governments are coupsters and should be punished. The
government's case is weak and the prosecution knows it. The
paucity of evidence presented after almost six months of

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trial, the unequal treatment of the Caracas police compared
to pro-Chavez civilians, the inappropriate contact between
the prosecution and the witness as observed by Poloffs, and
the private messages sent to the defense support claims that
this is just a politically motivated prosecution. Poloffs
plan to periodically observe the trial as part of a broader
program of observing similar trials and will continue to
report on its progress.

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