JUSTICE AND INTERIOR MINISTER CHACIN RESIGNS

C O N F I D E N T I A L CARACAS 001256 SIPDIS HQSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD DEPT FOR AID/OTI (RPORTER) E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/07/2018 TAGS: PGOV PREL SNAR PINR VE SUBJECT: JUSTICE AND INTERIOR MINISTER CHACIN RESIGNS Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR FRANCISCO FERNANDEZ, REASON 1.4 (D) ¶1. (SBU) Justice and Interior Minister Ramon Rodriguez Chacin resigned September 8, leaving Tarek el Aissami as Acting Minister. This was the embattled Chacin's second stint as Minister, serving first in 2002 and then again from January - September 2008. Chacin told the local media that he was resigning for "personal reasons," and that he would be "a disciplined servant of President and Commander in Chief Hugo Chavez and would be until my last days." Chacin had a combative relationship with independent media, which highlighted Venezuela's growing drug trafficking and violent crime problems. He was also criticized heavily in the press for his links to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Chacin is rumored to be President Chavez's nominee to be the BRV's next Venezuelan Ambassador to Colombia (Note: Many here find it hard to imagine the Colombian government would grant agrement. End Note). ¶2. (C) Aissami will be the tenth Interior Minister under Chavez. He was formerly the Vice Minister for Citizen Security in the Interior Ministry, and has also been accused of lack of action in attacking crime in Caracas. A number of Embassy contacts have told us they suspect Aissami has links to Middle Eastern terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah, though the link has not been verified. Aissami is reportedly of Syrian heritage. Caracas' Jewish community has pointed to Aissami as one of the more openly anti-Semitic figures in Chavez' government. Aissami was also formerly the assistant director of DIEX, the Interior Ministry's Identification and Immigration Office, and a student leader at the Andean University in western Venezuela. ¶3. (C) Comment: The reasons for Chacin's departure from Chavez's cabinet are not yet clear. With state and local elections coming up in November and public opinion decidedly critical of the BRV's anti-crime efforts, Rodriguez Chacin's removal from the cabinet may be a short-term electoral move. Aissami, known as an ardent Chavista, is not a popular figure himself, since crime rates in Venezuela have remained high during his tenure as head of security within the Interior Ministry. As he has done in the past when outside the cabinet, Chacin is likely to remain active behind the scenes, including as the BRV's unofficial "Ambassador to the FARC." End Comment. CAULFIELD