VISAS VIPER FEBRUARY 2009 ACTIVITY REPORT

UNCLAS CARACAS 000311 STATE FOR INR/TIPOFF AND CA/VO/L/C FBI FOR INTD/CTS DHS FOR HQINT SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: N/A TAGS: CVIS KVPR PTER ASEC PINR CMGT VE SUBJECT: VISAS VIPER FEBRUARY 2009 ACTIVITY REPORT ¶1. The Acting DCM chaired the Caracas Visas Viper Committee meeting on February 25, 2009. Committee members submitted two names for the Visas Viper program. ¶2. Committee members agree that Lina Ron meets the Visas Viper criteria. Her information is as follows: Name: Ron Pereira, Lina Ninette Alias: "Comandante Lina" DOB: September 23, 1959 POB: Anaco, State of Anzoategui, Venezuela Venezuelan Cedula (Identity Card) Number: 5486235 Father: Manuel Ron Chiva Third and current husband: Humberto Berroteran Number of brothers and sisters: 19 Lina Ron has an existing P3B Lookout in Class with the following information: Name: Ron, Lina, DOB: 21-Jan-1963, POB: Venezuela Ref.Code: P3B Ref.Site: CRS, Ref. Date: 01-Mar-2005 UID: DOSVOCRS000001267566001NC Lina Ron is the leader of a small, pro-government party, "Unidad Popular Venezuela" (UPV),which has threatened and targeted members of the independent media and opposition leaders with political violence. In January 2009, Ron personally led her party's attack on an opposition left-wing party, "Bandera Roja" (BR). Ron and UPV militants forcibly removed BR and opposition leaders from a downtown Caracas auditorium, where BR members were celebrating the anniversary of the party's founding. Credible open source reporting and Ron's public statements and actions support her inclusion in the Visas Viper program. ¶3. Committee members agree that David Santana meets the Visas Viper criteria. His information is as follows: Name: Santana Torres, David Valentin DOB: September 30, 1962 POB: Venezuela Venezuelan Cedula (Identity Card) Number: V-7251960 David Santana has an existing P2A1 Lookout in Class with the following information: Name: Santana Torres, David Valentin DOB: 30-SEP-1962 POB: Venezuela Ref.Code P2A1, Ref.Site: CRS, Ref.Date: 10-FEB-2009 UID: DOSVOCRS000002378730001NC GENDER:M, NATL:VENZ, Cat:1 David Santana is the founder and leader of the "La Piedrita" collective, a small pro-government organization in eastern Caracas that frequently engages in domestic political violence. During a recent newspaper interview, Santana claimed responsibility for tear gas bomb attacks and threats against members of the independent media, including the media conglomerate president Marcel Granier, the outspoken journalist Marta Colomina, and the independent cable station of Globovision. Santana also claimed responsibility for attacks on opposition political parties such as Copei and the "Bandera Roja". He said that "La Piedrita" was responsible for an attack on the Holy See mission to Venezuela as well. Santana's public statements and violent actions provide credible evidence of his qualification for the Visas Viper program. ¶4. Visas Viper coordinator at post is Alyce Abdalla. Contact information is AbdallaAN@state.gov and 058-212-907-8254. CAULFIELD