PSUV GOVERNOR STRIPPED OF TITLE AND DECLARED

C O N F I D E N T I A L CARACAS 000840 SIPDIS HQSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD DEPARTMENT PASS TO AID/OTI (RPORTER) E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/13/2028 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL VE SUBJECT: PSUV GOVERNOR STRIPPED OF TITLE AND DECLARED INELIGIBLE FOR RE-ELECTION REF: CARACAS 00812 Classified By: ACTING POLITICAL COUNSELOR VERONICA TORRES FOR REASON 1.4 (D) ¶1. (SBU) The Supreme Court (TSJ) opened an investigation into corruption charges against Yaracuy Governor Carlos Gutierrez in late May and subsequently stripped him of his charge. The TSJ also declared the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) governor ineligible to run for re-election in the November state and local elections. It is widely believed Gutierrez was sanctioned because he refused to withdraw his candidacy even after the PSUV backed Julio Cesar Leon Heredia, following the party's June 1 primary elections. Gutierrez's defense team has argued he can only be barred from running for public office following a judicial ruling, the same argument used by the opposition to protest the status of nearly 400 ineligible candidates (Reftel). ¶2. (C) President of the Andean Commission of Jurists Carlos Ayala told Poloff June 12 that President Chavez, who is also president of the PSUV, is "shamelessly" using the state-controlled courts to push the initiative through and punish Gutierrez. (Note: Gutierrez is reportedly the first governor to be stripped of his title while in office. Yaracuy's Lieutenant Governor will take over in the interim. End Note). Meanwhile, Carolina Segura, Gutierrez's court-appointed public defender, told Poloff that Gutierrez will continue to contest the corruption charges and the legality of the TSJ's rulings. Segura said she had not personally discussed the case with Gutierrez because he was not present at his May 27 hearing. ¶3. (C) Comment. The TSJ's decision to sanction Gutierrez is another example of the lack of judicial independence in Venezuela and the courts' apparent subordination to the will of President Chavez. Interestingly, the PSUV governor relies on the same judicial arguments that the opposition uses to contest the ineligibility of some of its most promising candidates. The sanctions against Gutierrez also indicate that those who have fallen out of favor with the government are not immune to its machinations. End Comment. Downes