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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CARACAS 001417 SIPDIS HQSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD DEPARTMENT PASS TO AID/OTI E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/04/2029 TAGS: PGOV, KDEM, VE SUBJECT: CHARGING OPPOSITION LEADERS AS SPIES, PARAMILITARIES, AND TAX EVADERS REF: CARACAS 1389 CARACAS 00001417 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ROBIN D. MEYER, FOR REASON 1.4(D) 1. (C) Summary: Over the past week, President Chavez and his supporters have stepped up attacks against two opposition governors, Cesar Perez Vivas (Tachira) and Henrique Capriles Radonski (Miranda). Chavez is blaming Perez Vivas for several highly-publicized violent incidents along the Colombian border (septel), alleging that he has ties to Colombian paramilitary groups. The Comptroller General agreed to investigate corruption charges against Capriles brought by Chavez's United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), which could result in a 15-year disqualification from public office. PSUV youth members and National Assembly (AN) Deputies have called for investigations of a number of other opposition figures on allegations of corruption and espionage. These attacks are akin to the smear campaign Chavez waged before the past two elections to discredit or disqualify particularly popular or vocal opposition figures. End Summary. --------------------------------------------- CHAVEZ ALLEGES PEREZ VIVAS' PARAMILITARY TIES --------------------------------------------- 2. (SBU) On November 3, Chavez publicly linked Tachira Governor Cesar Perez Vivas with violence along the border with Colombia, alleging that paramilitaries tied to the Governor had been responsible for the November 2 killing of two members of the Venezuelan National Guard. Chavez announced that Perez Vivas "is committed to the paramilitary plan and we cannot permit it... heed the consequences. There was one person who went running for Peru, (Perez Vivas) is going to have to do the same." (Notes: Since Perez Vivas' election in 2008, Chavez has repeatedly claimed he was linked to the Colombian paramilitaries. Manuel Rosales, former Maracaibo Mayor and 2006 Presidential candidate, sought political asylum in Lima in April 2009 after being charged with corruption. End Notes.) Chavez also suggested that the opposition Mayor of Tachira's capital city, San Cristobal, Monica de Mendez, should respond before a tribunal, just like the Governor." In a press conference in San Cristobal the same day, Vice President and Minister of Defense Ramon Carrizalez echoed Chavez's comments and said the Governor has "one foot in jail" and pledged he would fight against Perez Vivas' "dirty war." 3. (SBU) Perez Vivas responded November 4 that the charges were part of a "file" the GBRV had fabricated, with the assistance of Cuban intelligence services, to discredit him. He asserted to the local press that the central government was blaming paramilitary groups for the recent deaths in Tachira to "protect Colombian guerrillas" that had taken refuge in the area. He added that Chavez was trying to remove him from power, asserting that the GBRV "doesn't have a way to eliminate me ... so they are in their laboratories looking for what they can fabricate to blame me." --------------------------------------------- ----------- National Assembly Investigates the Opposition as "Spies" --------------------------------------------- ----------- 4. (SBU) On November 3, the AN approved a proposal submitted by AN Vice President Saul Ortega to investigate travel to Colombia by key opposition leaders, alleging that they have been involved in espionage against Venezuela. The named individuals are: Miranda State Governor Henrique Capriles Radonski, Tachira State Governor Cesar Perez Vivas, former Ambassador Milos Alcalay, former Chacao Mayor Leopoldo Lopez, Mayor of Greater Caracas Antonio Ledezma, former student leader Yon Goicochea, and exiled opposition leader Manuel Rosales. Ortega asserted that the opposition's "unity table" had been in Colombia in the past few months and days and that the former head of Colombia's Administrative Department of Security (DAS) had said they were plotting against the Venezuelan government. --------------------------------------------- ---------- Comptroller Pursues Corruption Charges against Capriles --------------------------------------------- ---------- 5. (SBU) On October 27, the General Comptroller ("Contraloria General") accepted corruption charges brought against Miranda State Governor Henrique Capriles Radonski. CARACAS 00001417 002.2 OF 002 The charges were levied on August 26 by the PSUV based on Capriles' tenure as Mayor of Baruta municipality (part of greater Caracas) between 2000-2008. The PSUV alleged "financial irregularities" involving several companies owned by Capriles and his family, including purported tax evasion related to the sale of two plots of land valued at USD 1.8 million. PSUV representatives claimed October 27 that Capriles would have to present himself before the Comptroller's Office the following week. (Note: These "administrative" charges are distinct from the legal case brought against Capriles for his alleged involvement in violence outside the Cuban Embassy during the 2002 coup against Chavez. Although the latter case could be reopened, post is not aware that any legal steps have been taken to do so. End Note.) 6. (C) Lawyer Rafael Chavero told Poloff on November 2 that the next step would be for the Comptroller to begin an administrative investigation into the case against Capriles, which could result in a determination of an "administrative irregularity." He said that if Capriles was found responsible, the Comptroller General could "disqualify" ("inhabilitar") Capriles for up to 15 years without the need for any court decision. He noted that this power has been used extensively by the GBRV in the past -- most famously to disqualify over 200 candidates in advance of the 2008 municipal and gubernatorial elections -- and called it a "fundamental tool used (by the GBRV) to remove political adversaries from the game." ------------------------------------------ ...AND POSSIBLY AGAINST LEDEZMA AND GARCIA ------------------------------------------ 7. (SBU) Several youth members of the PSUV urged the Comptroller's Office on October 30 to open an investigation into Mayor of Greater Caracas Antonio Ledezma's trip to Brazil. According to the state-owned media, the trip cost USD 20,000. The PSUV representatives asserted that an investigation was necessary "to explain to the country where these resources were taken from, in order (for Ledezma) to carry out political tourism... throughout Latin America and Europe." Ledezma has claimed the funding for his mid-October trip to Brazil, Spain, and France came from private sources (reftel). 8. (SBU) PSUV officials claimed October 27 to also have corruption evidence against opposition political party "Podemos" founder and AN Deputy Ismael Garcia. Although Garcia enjoys immunity from prosecution as an AN Deputy, that immunity could be lifted through a vote in the AN. ------- COMMENT ------- 9. (C) Of all the charges, those against Perez Vivas appear to be the most threatening, given the increased tensions with Colombia and Chavez's pledge that the Governor could be forced into exile. The charges against Capriles, one of the opposition's most popular figures, smack of political revenge due to Capriles' long-running rivalry with his predecessor and Chavez ally Diosdado Cabello and his repeated calls for a corruption investigation into Cabello's gubernatorial administration. Disqualifying Capriles from running for public office in the foreseeable future could both derail his political career and intimidate other opposition officials. CAULFIELD