ATTORNEY WARNS EMBASSY OF SPY CHARGES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CARACAS 000307

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/03/2021
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM VE
SUBJECT: ATTORNEY WARNS EMBASSY OF SPY CHARGES

REF: CARACAS 00255

Classified By: Mark Wells, Acting Polcouns,
for Reason 1.4(b).

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Summary
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1. (C) The attorney for five Venezuelan naval officers
accused of espionage on behalf of the USG described to Poloff
the details of the case being developed against his clients.
Bastidas said the Bolivarian Government accessed e-mail
accounts of the defendants and altered messages, including
ones sent to the U.S. naval attach. The targets of the
investigation appear to be officers, and in one case a
relative of an officer, who either were suspected of being
disloyal to the Revolution or had blown the whistle on
irregularities and corruption. Bastidas, information
suggests the government is conducting a witch hunt under the
cover of an espionage investigation. End summary.


2. (C) Bastidas told poloff January 19 that he was contacted
by a group of four Naval officers on January 13. They said
they had been summoned by military prosecutor Joel Febres
into a seven-hour meeting that day during which they were
accused of espionage on behalf of the United States.
Specifically, they were accused of passing classified
information to the Embassy in exchange for cash about the
government's purchase of three military boats from Spain.
The government also accused them of helping to formulate a
plan modeled on the U.S. invasion of Panama to topple the
Chavez government.


3. (C) Bastidas said the group told him that the prosecutor
had shown them several large case files filled with e-mails
they had allegedly sent to Correa. However, according to the
navy officers, the e-mails were altered. The group believes
the government hacked their accounts to create the bogus
messages and even froze them out of the accounts. Based on
the dates in the e-mail files, Bastidas said it appeared the
government had been working on the accusations since at least
December 9, 2005. He said the case was being given
high-level attention, and that the head military prosecutor
was present at one point during the January 13 session.


4. (C) Bastidas told poloff January 19 that the four
Venezuelan naval officers accused of espionage were: Jose
Luis Santin Puerta, Ernesto Carrasquero Marino, Jose
Rodriguez Vasquez, and Francisco Ferrer Molleja. At a
follow-up meeting January 31, Bastidas said there were two
new accused, retired naval commander Bernardo Jurado Capeche,
and Jacinto Nouel, the father-in-law of Jose Ignacio Plaza.
Bastidas said the officers had fled Venezuela - four (Jose
Luis Santin Puerta, Ernesto Carrasquero Marino, Francisco
Ferrer Molleja, and Bernardo Jurado Capeche) to the United
States and one (Jose Rodriguez Vasquez) to Costa Rica. Nouel
was taken to the military prison Ramo Verde although he is a
civilian, Bastidas said.


5. (C) Bastidas believed that politics governed the selection
of each of the six targeted for investigation, and gave
further background on several of the accused:

--Jurado is a retired naval officer whose uncle was Minister
of Defense. As the captain of a naval vessel, he made two to
three trips to Cuba with unknown cargo. He retired
approximately three years ago after refusing to make more
trips without knowledge of the cargo.

--Nouel is the father-in-law of Jose Ignacio Plaza -- a
retired military officer currently seeking asylum in the

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United States. Plaza deserted and fled to the United States
in 2005. He was later administratively retired. According to
press reports, Plaza retired after accusing two rear-admirals
of corruption. Nouel is a 60 year old dentist. Bastidas said
the government sent an express package containing a CD with
aircraft information to Nouel's house. Nouel signed for the
package, and a few hours later a military intelligence (DIM)
squad raided his house. The military attorney general's
office was involved in the search operation, as was the chief
naval intelligence officer.

--Santin was linked to the case because he sent information
to the press last fall in support of a September 7 report by
journalist Marianela Salazar regarding the military's lack of
provisions.

--Carrasquero worked in the Venezuelan navy's public
relations office. Bastidas said he thought he was linked to
the case because he had regular contact with the Embassy as
part of his job function. Bastidas said DIM officials had
visited the school attended by Carrasquero,s children to
seek information from teachers of his whereabouts and
activities.

--Rodriguez wrote a thesis several years ago for Central
University on Plan Colombia. Bastidas said the thesis was
not considered sympathetic to the Bolivarian cause and that
it earned Rodriguez a spot in the first round of
recriminations. Bastidas asked for the Embassy's help in
securing a visa renewal for Rodriguez, who fled in January to
Costa Rica. Rodriguez has a wife and two children who still
reside in Venezuela and do not have U.S. visas.

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COMMENT
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6. (C) Bastidas is, of course, a defense attorney and his
information should be evaluated as such. Still, his analysis
that the government is using the U.S. naval attach espionage
allegations for cover for a broader witch-hunt in the Navy or
armed forces makes sense. We expect to receive similar
requests for visa help as the government proceeds against
these supposed disloyal officers.
BROWNFIELD