CHAVEZ UPS THE ANTE: THE CRIMINALIZATION OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 CARACAS 001168 SIPDIS HQSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD DEPARTMENT PASS TO AID/OTI (RPORTER) DEPARTMENT PASS TO DRL (SMOODY) E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/01/2029 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL KDEM VE SUBJECT: CHAVEZ UPS THE ANTE: THE CRIMINALIZATION OF PROTEST REF: A. CARACAS 1133 ¶B. CARACAS 1120 ¶C. CARACAS 1086 ¶D. CARACAS 987 ¶E. CARACAS 1144 CARACAS 00001168 001.2 OF 003 Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ROBIN D. MEYER REASON 1.4 (D) ¶1. (C) Summary: With the number of protests on the rise across Venezuela, the Venezuelan government (GBRV) is increasingly using the threat of investigation, arrest and incarceration as a political strategy to discourage demonstrators and intimidate the political opposition. Intimidation and harassment against demonstrators and opposition political leaders may include violent attacks, threats to prosecute demonstrators and organizers, and most recently pre-trial detention. The threat of imprisonment of opposition leaders, particularly given the dismal state of Venezuelan jails, serves to reinforce the notion that any challenge to "the revolution" is not to be undertaken lightly. Moreover, criminal charges could also disqualify opposition leaders from participation in future elections. Faced with the possibility of prosecution and imprisonment, some opposition leaders have already chosen exile and others may follow. End Summary. -------------- PROTESTS AND INTIMIDATION TACTICS ON THE RISE -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Public protest is on the rise in Venezuela. On August 26, the Coordinator of the Social Democratic Unity Table, William Ojeda, reported to the press that since January 1, 2009, 1,518 demonstrations had already occurred in the country, steadily increasing from 101 in January to 280 in July. According to statistics released by leading human rights NGO Provea, in 2008, almost 500 people were detained by the police following their involvement in protests, of whom 265 sustained injuries due to use of force by authorities. ¶3. (SBU) Since Chavez's victory in the February 15 referendum allowing him to run for President indefinitely, there has also been an increase in opposition politicians, or former pro-Chavez politicians-turned-dissidents, who have been threatened with jail or are currently serving time in prison. Until now, the Chavez government has used selective prosecution on corruption charges as a way to go after opposition figures or former Chavistas. In March, for instance, authorities issued an arrest warrant for Maracaibo Mayor and 2006 opposition Presidential candidate Manuel Rosales, who later fled the country and was granted political asylum in Peru. Former Minister of Defense Raul Baduel, a former Chavez ally, was arrested in early April on corruption charges and is currently being held in a military prison. In April, an investigation was opened against the former Mayor of Caracas, Juan Barreto, on corruption charges as well. An arrest warrant was issued for former Guarico Governor Eduardo Manuitt in April for alleged embezzlement. In August, corruption charges were filed against former Aragua Governor Didalco Bolivar, who fled the country and sought political asylum abroad. Also in early August, corruption charges were filed against former candidate for Anzoategui Governor and ex-mayor of Lecherias, Gustavo Marcano. In addition, the government also has recently opened a corruption investigation of opposition Miranda Governor Capriles Radonski. ¶4. (SBU) Since the large but generally orderly public demonstration against a controversial new education law on August 22, which the National Guard tried to repress with tear gas, rubber bullets, and a water cannon (refs B and C), there have been a series of searches and arrests of protesters and opposition political leaders specifically involved in public demonstrations: -- Opposition Prefect of the Caracas Metropolitan District, Richard Blanco, was arrested on August 26 (ref A) on charges of "injurious and law-breaking behavior" following a scuffle between police and opposition protesters at the beginning of the August 22 demonstrations. Blanco's lawyers argue -- and there are radio transcripts and video that appear to support their claim -- that, during the demonstration, a crowd of protesters chased and threatened a plainclothes police CARACAS 00001168 002.2 OF 003 officer who was taking pictures of the protesters. Blanco intervened to prevent the crowd from attacking the police officer. Despite this action to protect the police officer, Blanco was later arrested for his purported participation in the scuffle. Blanco is the President of opposition Mayor Antonio Ledezma's Brave People's Alliance (ABP) party. In a break with past practice, Blanco has been kept in custody since his arrest, rather than released pending trial. -- On August 28, 11 employees of Mayor Ledezma's office were arrested on charges of "disturbing public order" following their participation in the August 22 march. The employees are currently being held without bail in Caracas' La Planta prison. The employees generally held low-ranking positions in the Mayor's Office, ranging from day laborers to human resources personnel. -- On August 29, the GBRV issued an arrest warrant for the Brave People's Alliance (ABP) spokesman Oscar Perez. Perez, who along with opposition Mayor Antonio Ledezma and political leader Leopoldo Lopez, were all publicly named by Minister of Interior and Justice Tarek el Aissami as being responsible for the "violence" that the GBRV claims the opposition incited during the protest. Perez also led the opposition's complaints to the Attorney General's Office about the "disproportionate" police response during the August 22 march. Perez was not at home at the time the police came to serve the arrest warrant or when the police returned to search his home on August 31. -------------- CRIMINALIZATION OF PROTEST -------------- ¶5. (SBU) On August 28, Attorney General Luisa Ortega Diaz publicly threatened to prosecute demonstrators and organizers of the August 22 protests with 12-24 years in prison under article 143 (Civil Rebellion) of the recently passed reform to the criminal penal code (ref D). According to Ortega, "the Public Ministry is not going to permit this to continue. Those who threaten public tranquillity and peace in the country and produce instability, destabilize the Government, or attack (our) democratic system, will be prosecuted... not only the perpetrators (of the crime) but the intellectuals (organizers) as well." ¶6. (SBU) President Chavez left no doubt where he stands on the issue of prosecution and detention of protesters or opposition leaders. During his "Alo Presidente" show before foreign correspondents on August 30 (ref e),Chavez said that opposition Governor Perez Vivas was responsible for instigating violent protests the previous day and continued, "We will not stand by with our arms folded. The Governor of Tachira has converted himself into a destabilizing factor in his own state . . . and Venezuela as a whole. We are not going to permit this . . . even if it means opening a legal case against him." He added, "A governor cannot be detained without a probable cause hearing ("antejuicio de merito")." He similarly threatened the opposition mayor of San Cristobal who had been involved in the protests, noting that mayors, unlike governors, do not have any constitutional protections against detention, a message likely intended for opposition Mayor of Caracas Antonio Ledezma as well. -------------- VENEZUELAN PRISONS ARE YOUR WORST FEAR -------------- ¶7. (SBU) The GBRV's decision to subject protesters, such as Blanco and the municipal employees, to pretrial detention is a break from past practice and represents a serious new form of intimidation. Venezuelan prisons are notoriously dangerous. According to the prison-monitoring NGO Venezuelan Prison Observatory (OVP),Venezuela's prisons are seriously overcrowded, and violence among prison gangs, prisoner-on-prisoner violence, shoot-outs, and riots led to 422 inmate deaths in 2008 and 854 prisoners either injured or seriously wounded. The prisons lack basic hygiene, food, water, and medical care. According to OVP, "a person is 500 times more likely to die in a Venezuelan prison than on the streets of Caracas." And, Caracas has one of the highest homicide rates in the world. -------------- COMMENT CARACAS 00001168 003.2 OF 003 -------------- ¶8. (C) Until recently, the Chavez government relied largely on the threat of selective investigation and prosecution of prominent political opponents, generally alleging corruption and/or malfeasance while in office. To threaten prosecution and imprisonment for protesting government policies ups the ante for potential protesters and opposition leaders. Moreover, such criminal charges may later be used by the GBRV to declare opposition political leaders ineligible to run for public office in future elections. In 2008, the GBRV used various technicalities to disqualify 272 potential candidates prior to state and local elections, a tactic that potentially could be repeated in upcoming 2010 elections for the National Assembly. Criminalizing protest would pose a specific longer term threat to the opposition governors of Miranda, Tachira, and Carabobo, as well as Caracas Mayor Antonio Ledezma, all of whom might be considered potential future Presidential candidates, and may leave them with the choice of fighting within the judicial system or acquiescing to the systemic changes the President is pushing through the Venezuelan legislature. DUDDY