OPPOSITION LEADER ROSALES STILL IN HIDING AS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CARACAS 000441

SIPDIS

HQSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD
DEPARTMENT PASS TO AID/OTI (RPORTER)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/23/2029
TAGS: PGOV KDEM VE
SUBJECT: OPPOSITION LEADER ROSALES STILL IN HIDING AS
CHARGES MOUNT

REF: CARACAS 438

CARACAS 00000441 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR FRANCISCO FERNANDEZ,
FOR REASON 1.4(D)


1. (C) Summary: Maracaibo mayor and former opposition
Presidential candidate Manuel Rosales remains in hiding,
probably in Zulia State, a week after he was rumored to have
fled the country in pursuit of political asylum. His lawyers
provided Polcouns April 2 with a step-by-step legal rebuttal
of the charges against him, which they claim were first
raised and dismissed in 2006 for lack of evidence.
Subsequently, an arrest warrant was issued for him for
conspiracy to commit homicide April 3 after protesters were
injured allegedly by his supporters in front of his Maracaibo
office. His selective prosecution and the arrest of former
Defense Minister Raul Baduel (reftel) indicates an
unprecedented crackdown on the opposition and could herald a
descent into full-fledged authoritarianism. End Summary.

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OLD CHARGES BROUGHT ANEW
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2. (C) Rosales's legal team provided Polcouns April 2 with
a written explanation of the illegality of the charges being
brought against him by the state. He has been summoned to
appear in court on April 20 to be tried. They point out that
the Comptroller General brought the same charges against
Rosales in 2006, alleging he had illicitly enriched himself
to the tune of 147,000 BsF ($68,372 USD at the official
rate). His lawyers presented the same argument then as now
-- that the "extra" income was from his activities as a
rancher, which they claim is of a "public and well-known
manner for more than 30 years." A subsequent investigation
by the Zulia State Public Ministry was closed, without
prejudice, due to lack of evidence in June 2006.


3. (C) Rosales' lawyers claim that Chavez
unconstitutionally re-opened the case in the run-up to the
2008 local elections when he began publicly calling for
Rosales' arrest, which they allege was followed by direct
orders from Miraflores to dig up the archived case. They
argue that doing so violates Article 315 of the Organic Code
of Penal Process, which stipulates that after an
investigation has been closed for lack of evidence, it can
only be re-opened at the whim of the accused or if the
government (or plaintiff) uncovers new evidence. The Zulia
State prosecutor, Katiukska Plaza, presented a formal
accusation against Rosales last month based on "new evidence"
she gathered from sworn testimony from the Chavista former
mayor of Maracaibo, Gian Carlo Di Martino, and Zulia
Secretary General of the pro-government Patria Para Todos
(PPT) party Jose Luis Pirela -- hardly impartial witnesses,
who apparently provided little more than their personal
opinion that Rosales was corrupt.

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AND NOW MURDER, TOO
--------------


4. (SBU) Zulia State Labor Inspector William Portillo
denounced Rosales April 2 for conspiracy to commit homicide
after six workers were injured when they clashed with alleged
Rosales supports in a protest in front of the Maracaibo
mayor's offices on April 1. The workers were protesting the
loss of thousands of jobs since Rosales was elected to his
post in November 2008.


5. (C) The lawyers claim that they have advised Rosales to
remain in hiding in Zulia and allege that he is arguing that
he should come out into the open to fight the charges. His
wife, Evelyn Trejo de Rosales, announced April 5 during a
Sunday mass in Zulia that Rosales belongs not to his family
but "only to Venezuela," but she pleaded publicly that he not
present himself before the court on April 20. In a special
session April 3, the Maracaibo municipal council voted to
grant Rosales 90 days to "separate" from office and focus on
his case, and appointed his Director of International
Relations, Elias Matta, to assume his mayoral duties in the
interim. Doing so defuses the Chavista President of the
National Assembly Celia Flores' threats that since Rosales is
in hiding, he is not fulfilling his official duties as mayor
and so the National Electoral Council should hold elections
to fill his slot.


CARACAS 00000441 002.2 OF 002


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OTHER POLITICAL PROSECUTIONS?
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6. (C) A lower court in Yaracuy State ordered April 5 the
arrest of Chavista dissident and former Yaracuy governor
Carlos Gimenez for refusing to appear for three court dates.
He is being prosecuted on charges of corruption from 2004 to
2007, during his tenure as a United Socialist Party of
Venezuela (PSUV) governor. Although his case began several
months ago shortly before the November 2008 local elections,
the timing of the arrest warrant issuance lends a political
air -- particularly since he is being widely touting as a
PSUV dissident in the local press.

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COMMENT
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7. (C) It is unclear why Rosales has not yet offered some
personal statement in his own defense, written or otherwise,
nor why his legal team has not publicized what they argue is
the GBRV's flimsy legal standing against their client. By
driving Rosales into hiding, Chavez has been effective in
undoing perhaps the most visible leader of the opposition,
crossing what many pundits have gauged a redline between
rhetorical threats and actually taking repressive action.
Rosales now faces the unhappy choice between submitting to
what will almost certainly be a political show trial, or
avoiding his April 20 court date and either fleeing the
country or attempting to stay in hiding. The accusations
against Rosales, Baduel and Gimenez, combined with the
approval of a law stripping powers from the opposition mayor
of Caracas could herald the final turn towards authoritarian
rule by this regime. End Comment.
CAULFIELD