Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08CARACAS1312
2008-09-19 19:05:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Caracas
Cable title:
BRV EXPELS HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH DIRECTOR
how-toVZCZCXRO7221 PP RUEHAG RUEHROV DE RUEHCV #1312 2631905 ZNY CCCCC ZZH P 191905Z SEP 08 FM AMEMBASSY CARACAS TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1818 INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE PRIORITY RUEHWH/WESTERN HEMISPHERIC AFFAIRS DIPL POSTS PRIORITY RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY RUMIAAA/HQ USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L CARACAS 001312
SIPDIS
HQSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD
DEPARTMENT PASS TO AID/OTI (RPORTER)
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/12/2028
TAGS: ASEC PGOV PHUM PREL VE
SUBJECT: BRV EXPELS HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH DIRECTOR
Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR FRANCISCO FERNANDEZ
FOR REASON 1.4 (D)
C O N F I D E N T I A L CARACAS 001312
SIPDIS
HQSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD
DEPARTMENT PASS TO AID/OTI (RPORTER)
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/12/2028
TAGS: ASEC PGOV PHUM PREL VE
SUBJECT: BRV EXPELS HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH DIRECTOR
Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR FRANCISCO FERNANDEZ
FOR REASON 1.4 (D)
1. (SBU) SUMMARY. On the evening of September 18, the BRV
expelled Jose Miguel Vivanco, the Americas Director of Human
Rights Watch (HRW),on the grounds of allegedly involving
himself illegally in the internal affairs of Venezuela,
attacking its democratic institutions, and violating the
Venezuelan Constitution. Vivanco held a Caracas press
conference earlier the same day to launch a critical report
of the Chavez administration's human rights record. The MFA
also issued a communique announcing the expulsion which
sought to tie Vivanco to the United States, claiming that the
BRV was acting to defend against "aggressions" linked to and
funded by the USG. Amcit Daniel Wilkinson, Vivanco's
assistant, was included in the expulsion order. END SUMMARY.
2. (SBU) The BRV expulsion order came hours after Vivanco,
a Chilean, publicly presented a critical 266-page report
titled "A Decade of Chavez: Political Intolerance and Lost
Opportunities for the Progress of Human Rights in Venezuela"
to a group including representatives from more than seventy
countries. Asserting a "waste of a historic opportunity,"
the report attacked the BRV's efforts to contain the
opposition, consolidate power, and weaken democratic
institutions. In the text, HRW questioned Chavez's decision
in 2004 to alter the composition of the Supreme Court,
calling it the "most grave violation" of rights in Venezuela
since the failed coup attempt in 2002. According to Foreign
Minister Maduro's statements to the local press, Vivanco and
Wilkinson were driven to the airport and boarded the first
flight out of Caracas.
3. (SBU) The pro-government press immediately drew
connections between Vivanco and the alleged plot to overthrow
Chavez. On September 19, the pro-government daily tabloid
Diario VEA reported on its front page that Vivanco is a
"known agent" of an unspecified US intelligence agency who
entered Venezuela illegally. Opposition leaning media
criticized the government's actions and highlighted HRW's
independence from any government.
4. (C) Comment: The BRV has long been sensitive to
international criticism, but the expulsion of Vivanco and
Wilkinson -- and the speed with which the order was issued
and executed -- highlights the BRV's ever increasing
sensitivity and intolerance to any critique of the President
or the Bolivarian revolution. End Comment.
CAULFIELD
SIPDIS
HQSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD
DEPARTMENT PASS TO AID/OTI (RPORTER)
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/12/2028
TAGS: ASEC PGOV PHUM PREL VE
SUBJECT: BRV EXPELS HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH DIRECTOR
Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR FRANCISCO FERNANDEZ
FOR REASON 1.4 (D)
1. (SBU) SUMMARY. On the evening of September 18, the BRV
expelled Jose Miguel Vivanco, the Americas Director of Human
Rights Watch (HRW),on the grounds of allegedly involving
himself illegally in the internal affairs of Venezuela,
attacking its democratic institutions, and violating the
Venezuelan Constitution. Vivanco held a Caracas press
conference earlier the same day to launch a critical report
of the Chavez administration's human rights record. The MFA
also issued a communique announcing the expulsion which
sought to tie Vivanco to the United States, claiming that the
BRV was acting to defend against "aggressions" linked to and
funded by the USG. Amcit Daniel Wilkinson, Vivanco's
assistant, was included in the expulsion order. END SUMMARY.
2. (SBU) The BRV expulsion order came hours after Vivanco,
a Chilean, publicly presented a critical 266-page report
titled "A Decade of Chavez: Political Intolerance and Lost
Opportunities for the Progress of Human Rights in Venezuela"
to a group including representatives from more than seventy
countries. Asserting a "waste of a historic opportunity,"
the report attacked the BRV's efforts to contain the
opposition, consolidate power, and weaken democratic
institutions. In the text, HRW questioned Chavez's decision
in 2004 to alter the composition of the Supreme Court,
calling it the "most grave violation" of rights in Venezuela
since the failed coup attempt in 2002. According to Foreign
Minister Maduro's statements to the local press, Vivanco and
Wilkinson were driven to the airport and boarded the first
flight out of Caracas.
3. (SBU) The pro-government press immediately drew
connections between Vivanco and the alleged plot to overthrow
Chavez. On September 19, the pro-government daily tabloid
Diario VEA reported on its front page that Vivanco is a
"known agent" of an unspecified US intelligence agency who
entered Venezuela illegally. Opposition leaning media
criticized the government's actions and highlighted HRW's
independence from any government.
4. (C) Comment: The BRV has long been sensitive to
international criticism, but the expulsion of Vivanco and
Wilkinson -- and the speed with which the order was issued
and executed -- highlights the BRV's ever increasing
sensitivity and intolerance to any critique of the President
or the Bolivarian revolution. End Comment.
CAULFIELD