BRV LASHES OUT FOLLOWING INTERPOL REPORT

C O N F I D E N T I A L CARACAS 000680 SIPDIS HQSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/16/2018 TAGS: PGOV PREL CO VE SUBJECT: BRV LASHES OUT FOLLOWING INTERPOL REPORT Classified By: Daniel Lawton, Acting Political Counselor, for Reason 1.4(d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (BRV) didn't waste any time in beginning its efforts to try to discredit Interpol and the contents of the defunct FARC commander's hard drives. On the morning of the May 15 Interpol report, Defense Minister Gustavo Rangel Briceno called the FARC computers "a big lie." During a four-hour press conference following Interpol's announcement Chavez called the Interpol report a "clown show" and said Interpol Secretary General Ronald Noble was "a gringo cop." Chavista talk show host Mario Silva claimed Noble had procured girls for former President Clinton. Chavez also threatened to withhold hard currency from Colombian companies in Venezuela and said he would reconsider Venezuela's participation in Interpol. The Venezuelan Embassy in Washington repeated Interpol's disclaimer on the accuracy of any information of the drive and questioned the motivation of "the campaign" against the BRV. The BRV looks increasing desperate to use any avenue of attack to discredit Interpol and the potentially damaging content from the FARC computers. END SUMMARY. SMEAR EARLY, SMEAR OFTEN -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Speaking at a May 15 ceremony supplying AK-103 rifles to the Guardia Nacional, Defense Minister General Gustavo Rangel Briceno called the potentially damaging computer files "a big lie cooked up in an American laboratory." Following Interpol's Bogota press conference, Chavez held a four-hour press conference for foreign journalists, including 18 visiting editors of American newspapers. The Venezuelan President's lengthy opening remarks covered almost everything except the FARC computers, including the upcoming EU - Latin American summit, global warming, a proposed fund to fight regional hunger and a planned test firing of a missile from a Su-30 (FLANKER) fighter jet. ¶3. (SBU) Upon receiving the first question from the assembled foreign press, which was about the Interpol report, Chavez called it a "clown show unworthy of his response." Chavez then launched into a carefully choreographed performance suggesting that it would have been easy to plant information at the site of the attack. Chavez then proceeded to try to discredit Interpol by producing a 1975 report linking Interpol President Arturo Verduga Herrera of violating human rights and trying to alter police reports when Verduga was a police officer in Chile. Chavez called Interpol Secretary General Ronald Kenneth Noble "a gringo cop, aggressive and brutish" who "applauds assassins, sovereignty violators and came to Bogota to congratulate them." Chavista TV personality Mario Silva accused Noble on the air of a government TV station of procuring young women for President Clinton. The Venezuelan Embassy in Washington took a slightly higher road in a May 15 press release by repeating Interpol's disclaimer on the accuracy of any information of the drive and questioning the motivation of "the campaign" against the BRV. THERE YOU GO AGAIN -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Chavez expressed solidarity with the Colombian people while hurling the usual invectives at Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and his administration. Chavez warned that Colombian imports were "not indispensable" to Venezuela and promised a comprehensive review of political, economic and diplomatic relations with his Andean neighbor. Chavez also ordered his Justice Minister to look into abandoning Interpol and creating a new international law enforcement cooperative made up of the five ALBA counties and Europe. ¶5. (C) COMMENT: Especially following his performance at the press conference, Chavez appears increasingly defensive and desperate to ward off the revelations from the FARC data files. Grasping at straws, Chavez is using every possible accusation, barb and insinuation to attack Colombia, Interpol and the veracity of the FARC hard drives in order to preserve his credibility at home and abroad. Considering that most Venezuelans disapprove of the FARC, Chavez appears particularly anxious to limit the potential damage of evidence showing BRV-FARC ties. DUDDY