BRV COOKS UP CONSPIRACY THEORY TO LINK USG TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L CARACAS 000586 SIPDIS SIPDIS HQSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD DEPARTMENT PASS TO AID/OTI (RPORTER) E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/29/2028 TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM CO VE SUBJECT: BRV COOKS UP CONSPIRACY THEORY TO LINK USG TO ANDERSON MURDER REF: CARACAS 00498 Classified By: ACTING POLITICAL COUNSELOR DANIEL LAWTON FOR REASON 1.4 (D) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY. The local media reported April 23 that former Attorney General (AG) Isaias Rodriguez again accused the FBI and CIA of orchestrating the death of federal prosecutor Danilo Anderson. The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (BRV) has repeatedly tried to connect opposition figures and the USG to Anderson's murder, although it is widely believed his death was organized by persons he was extorting. Through media contacts, PAS acquired a copy of the briefing document Rodriguez purportedly presented to the AG's Office. The document specifically mentions the Legal Attache. In mid-March, an ex-prosecutor accused Rodriguez of altering witness testimony and falsely implicating critics of the government in the Anderson case. While public pressure has forced the AG's Office to re-open the case, the BRV is unlikely to properly investigate the murder as that might expose Anderson's involvement in illegal activities. END SUMMARY. -------------- Rodriguez Accuses USG Agencies, Again -------------- ¶2. (C) The on-line news source Noticiero Digital reported April 23 that former Attorney General (AG) Isaias Rodriguez briefed the AG's Office on the Anderson case and connected USG agencies to Anderson's murder. PAS acquired a copy of the briefing document that Rodriguez reportedly used in the meeting via PAS contacts. The document titled "Shock and Awe: New Psychological Operations and the Anderson Case Revisited" accuses the opposition, the USG, Colombia, and Israel of organizing a national and international campaign to destabilize President Chavez's administration. ¶3. (SBU) According to the document, part of that campaign is to foster the belief that BRV officials, such as Rodriguez, are implicated in Anderson's death. One of the document's concluding points is that "Anderson's murder was planned and paid for by the FBI and the CIA" because he was committed to Chavez' "revolutionary" process. The document also repeatedly mentions the Legal Attache's supposed role in organizing Anderson's murder and the alleged destabilization plot. Since Anderson's death in 2004, the BRV has from time to time accused the USG and opposition figures of involvement in the incident. ¶4. (SBU) In addition, the briefing paper also accuses AG Luisa Ortega Diaz and Human Rights Ombudsman Gabriela Ramirez of cooperating with USG agencies to re-open the Anderson case. It argues that both BRV officials have ties to opposition figures accused of being the intellectual authors of Anderson's murder. -------------- Anderson Revisited -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Danilo Anderson was a leading BRV federal prosecutor killed in a 2004 car bombing. He was assigned a considerable number of politically-motivated cases, including those involing the failed April 2002 coup. It is widely spculated that Anderson was using his position to exort the suspects he was investigating. In mid-Mrch, a former prosecutor accused Rodriguez of docoring witness testimony and falsely implicating pposition figures in the incident (Reftel). Shotly thereafter, the government's one-time key winess told the media that Rodriguez paid him USD 50,000 to present false testimony in the case. ¶6. (C) COMMENT. Although these accusations against the USG are not new, the document highlights the lengths to which Rodriguez is going to in order to hide his mishandling of the case and blame others. It also suggests a heightened level of in-fighting among BRV officials given Rodriguez's accusations against his peers. Public pressure has forced the AG's Office to re-open the case, but the BRV is unlikely to dig too deeply as that might expose Anderson's extortion activities. END COMMENT. DUDDY