GBRV ISSUES ARREST WARRANT FOR ANOTHER OPPOSITION LEADER

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 2019/12/15
TAGS: PGOV KDEM VE
SUBJECT: GBRV ISSUES ARREST WARRANT FOR ANOTHER OPPOSITION LEADER

CLASSIFIED BY: Robin D. Meyer, Political Counselor, DOS, POL; REASON:
1.4(B),(D)


1. (C) Summary: The Venezuelan Government (GBRV) issued an
arrest warrant December 8 for Ramon Martinez, an ex-governor and
the nominal president of the Podemos opposition party, on
corruption charges. Although the case has generated only minimal
press interest, the prosecution is probably targeted at
intimidating vocal Podemos leader and National Assembly (AN) Deputy
Ismael Garcia, who was one of the people responsible for releasing
information to the press on Chavez insiders allegedly involved in
corrupt banking and other illicit deals. Martinez is currently in
hiding but if he is arrested and tried, could face up to ten years
in prison. End Summary.




2. (SBU) A tribunal in Sucre State issued an arrest warrant
December 8 for Ramon Martinez, the president of the opposition
Podemos party and the former governor (1992-98, 2000-08) of Sucre.
(Note: Martinez was elected to his most recent two terms with
Chavez's support prior to Podemos' break with Chavismo in 2007.
End Note.) According to local press, he is being charged with
corruption and illicit enrichment that allegedly occurred during
his tenure in office. The charges include financial
"irregularities" purportedly related to the sale of houses that
were destined for the Barrio Adentro medical social "mission"
program and the diversion of funds from a fisheries project that
took place between 2001 and 2004. The ex-governor's son and the
former president of the Regional Housing Foundation, Jose Diaz, are
also included in the arrest warrant. The corruption charges can
carry a prison sentence from six months to ten years.



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RETALIATION AGAINST ISMAEL GARCIA?

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3. (C) Podemos AN Deputy Juan Jose Molina confirmed to Poloffs
December 10 that Martinez was in hiding after a raid on his house
by the National Guard and representatives from the State Attorney
General's Office. Molina did not show much visible concern that
the president of his party was being sought by the police. He
speculated that the charges might be an effort to intimidate AN
Deputy and party spokesman Ismael Garcia, who along with "Accion
Democratica" leader Henry Ramos Allup, have publicly denounced key
figures in Chavez's inner circle, including Diosdado Cabello, Jose
Vicente Rangel, Hugo Carvajal, and Chavez's brother, Adan. Molina
agreed that the tactic was similar to the August 2009 arrest of
Richard Blanco, the head of Mayor of Greater Caracas Antonio
Ledezma's Brave People's Alliance (ABP) party, which occurred
following Ledezma's internationally publicized criticisms of
Chavez. (Comment: Both Blanco and Martinez are nominally the
presidents of their parties, but Ledezma and Garcia are widely
perceived as the true "leaders" of ABP and Podemos, respectively.
End Comment.) Molina said that despite these apparent intimidation
tactics, Garcia "would not shut up" and would continue in his
criticisms of Chavez. He dismissed the charges as purely
political, commenting that "nobody in Podemos is corrupt."




4. (SBU) The current PSUV Governor of Sucre Enrique Maestre
announced December 10 that he would order his Attorney General's
Office to continue investigations into his predecessor's
government. He said that "I am not the one who will send anybody
to jail, but I ask the judiciary to see justice done." Maestre
suggested that AN Deputy Hermes Garcia, who is also from Podemos,
should be among those investigated, asserting that "Garcia was
living in a rented house and now has private houses in 14 states in
the country, including mansions." Regarding upcoming AN elections
slated for September 2010, Maestre said that "those who involve
themselves in Martinez's little gangster group, of which each day
there are fewer, we are going to pulverize them." On December 14,

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PSUV representative Gerson Perez called on the Comptroller General
to disqualify ("inhabilitar") Garcia from running for future public
office, an administrative sanction that can be issued in cases of
purported financial wrongdoing without a judicial ruling. Perez
alleged that Garcia had absconded with over 27 million BsF (12.5
million USD at the official exchange rate) and evaded millions of
dollars in taxes.




5. (SBU) AN Deputy and Podemos leader Ismael Garcia responded the
December 11 that the arrest warrant was political retaliation for
his party's attacks against the central government. The Sucre
opposition "unity table" issued a communique December 12 that said
the arrest warrant's "primary objective is to force the democratic
opposition to kneel, and also to serve as a smokescreen to distract
the population from all the problems there are in Sucre."



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COMMENT

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6. (C) The arrest warrant against Martinez barely registered a
blip in the national press, none of which noted the fact that he is
the president of Podemos - the only major opposition party with
representation in the AN. End Comment.
DUDDY