JOURNALIST IMPRISONED PENDING CORRUPTION CHARGES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CARACAS 000664

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/08/2021
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KPAO KDEM VE
SUBJECT: JOURNALIST IMPRISONED PENDING CORRUPTION CHARGES

REF: CARACAS 536

Classified By: Robert Downes, Political Counselor,
for Reason 1.4(b).

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Summary
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1. (C) Talk show host Gustavo Azocar was arrested March 6 in
connection with a corruption investigation against him for
allegedly defrauding the Tachira state lottery in 2000. A
Tachira state court March 7 sustained the prosecution's
argument that Azocar posed a flight risk because of his
supposed failure to appear at court dates, and ordered him
held until the investigation against him was complete. The
defense called the ruling political retaliation against
Azocar for his outspoken criticism of state governor Ronald
Blanco La Cruz. Media sources told emboffs that the fraud
charges against Azocar may prove true, but the timing of
Azocar's arrest directly following his March 5 criticism of a
judge involved on a highly-charged political case made it
likely that Azocar's arrest was a political retaliation. The
BRV's attacks on the press have risen dramatically as of late
(reftel),and the media and Azocar's lawyers have portrayed
his arrest as yet another BRV attack on press freedom. While
the case has been transmitted to the national stage,
garnering mention by Reporters without Borders and the
National Press Workers Union, among others, the case against
Azocar seems to be more the product of Tachira's notoriously
cut-throat state politics than the BRV's broader initiative
to muzzle the press. End summary.

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Journalist Imprisoned -- Faces Fraud Charges
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2. (C) Journalist Gustavo Azocar was arrested March 6 upon
his departure from Tachira Regional Television. Azocar is the
host of the popular morning talk show "Coffee with Azocar"
and a leading critic of the state's chavista governor, Ronald
Blanco la Cruz. He is under investigation for embezzlement
for allegedly accepting payment from Tachira State Lottery
for ads which were never run when he was the director of a
Tachira radio station in 2000. The investigation has been
ongoing for at least six months. The prosecution justified
Azocar's March 6 arrest by claiming Azocar had failed to
attend court dates and cooperate with the investigation, and
was therefore a flight risk. A Tachira state court March 7
upheld the prosecution's motion that Azocar be held until the
investigation was complete. Under Venezuelan law, the
prosecution now has 30 days to either formally charge Azocar
or release him and drop the investigation.


3. (C) The defense dismissed the court's ruling against
Azocar, claiming that they had presented official documents
certifying Azocar's attendance at the last 10 court dates,
and calling the case against him "a show" whose real purpose
was to keep him off the air. (Note: Tachira is traditionally
seen as a notoriously corrupt state, and Tachira media
sources told emboffs March 8 they would not be surprised if
there was some truth to the charges against Azocar, although
they had seen no concrete proof.)

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"I am the governor's prisoner"
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4. (C) Azocar told the press March 7 his arrest was the
result of his outspoken criticism of state politics and
declared he was the "prisoner of (Tachira state governor)
Ronald Blanco La Cruz." He claimed Blanco La Cruz had offered
reward money to the prosecution and judge for arresting him.
Azocar's arrest came one day after his March 5 accusations
against Tachira state judge Jorege Ochoa Arrozaya. Azocar
presented documents on his program which allegedly proved

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that Ochoa had never received a law degree in Colombia, as he
claimed, and called for Ochoa's dismissal. Ochoa has issued
rulings on a highly-charged political case against those
accused of taking over the governor's mansion in April 2002.
Tachira state media sources told emboffs March 8 that by
attacking a judge involved on the case, Azocar had undermined
the case's credibility, which could be seen as a personal
attack on the governor since the case is closely tied to him.
This theory seems to be supported by the prosecution's
statement March 8, criticizing Azocar for using his program
"to make serious accusations against (Ochoa)." Members of
Venamcham's media commission told emboffs March 8 that the
timing of the Azocar's detention, which came the day after he
called for Ochoa's removal, indicated that the court's ruling
was a political retaliation against Azocar by the governor.

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COMMENT
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5. (C) Azocar's lawyers and the media have called his arrest
an attack on press freedom and linked it to the BRV's broader
campaign against the opposition media. His case has certainly
moved from Tachira onto the national stage ) it was labeled
an attack on press freedom by Reporters without Borders and
the National Press Workers Union, and has received national
media attention. However, while the BRV's assault on the
press has created a permissive atmosphere for Azocar's
arrest, his arrest does not appear directly linked to the
BRV's broader initiative to muzzle the press by attacking key
opposition media leaders. Azocar's arrest directly followed
his call for the removal of a judge involved on a political
case of personal importantance to Tachira state's governor.
His detention, while an assault on press freedom, appears to
be more a political retaliation by the governor than the
local extension of the BRV's anti-media campaign. It also
reflects a chavista tendency to seek information regarding
misdeeds of individuals and save them for use at a political
optimum moment.
BROWNFIELD