US embassy cable - 04CARACAS975

C O N F I D E N T I A L  CARACAS 000975 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
NSC FOR CBARTON 
USCINCSO ALSO FOR POLAD 
USAID DCHA/OTI FOR RPORTER 
DRL/PHD FOR JDAVIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/03/2013 
TAGS: PHUM, PGOV, PINS, VE 
SUBJECT: HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS CLOSE-UP: DETENTIONS 
 
 
Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ABELARDO A. ARIAS FOR REASONS 1.4 (B 
) AND (D) 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1. (U) The GOV has detained hundreds of individuals since 
February 27 on charges ranging from "violent behavior" to 
civil rebellion.  The detentions share certain 
characteristics, including little concern with the detainee's 
relation to the alleged charges, beatings and torture while 
in National Guard (GN) custody, denial of medical attention, 
denial of due process, and forcing detainees to sign 
statements absolving the GN of allegations of mistreatment, 
all of which violate rights guaranteed in the Venezuelan 
Constitution.  In spite of the number of violations confirmed 
by human rights NGOs, the GOV maintains that it has not 
committed human rights violations.  Examples of specific 
violations are at paragraph 9.  End Summary. 
 
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Article 44: Personal Freedom is inviolable. 
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2. (C) According to statistics from the Democratic 
Coordinator (CD), security forces detained nationwide 410 
people associated with the opposition during the February 
27-March 5 period.  Of those 410, approximately 195 were 
still being held as of March 17, according to composite lists 
drawn from the CD, the media, and NGOs.  According to the 
human rights NGO PROVEA, many of the detentions share certain 
characteristics, including little concern with the detainee's 
relation to the alleged charges, beatings and torture while 
in National Guard (GN) custody, denial of medical attention, 
denial of due process, and forcing detainees to sign 
statements absolving the GN of allegations of mistreatment, 
all of which violate rights guaranteed in the Venezuelan 
Constitution. (Note: We believe that PROVEA, which initially 
supported the Chavez Government but which over time has 
distanced itself from the GOV, has shown itself to be an 
independent minded, principled organization.  Like other 
serious human rights groups, it laboriously documents cases 
through interviews, collection of any physical evidence, and 
cross-checking data with other human rights NGOs.  It also 
assists victims in filing an official complaint of the 
alleged abuse.) 
 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
The Real Charge?  Presumed Opposition to Chavez 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
3. (U) A variety of sources, including NGOs, the media, and 
anecdotal accounts circulating via internet, suggest that the 
link between the detainee and the charge on which the 
detention is based is usually tenuous at best.  Detainees 
have been demonstrators, spectators, and individuals 
unrelated to any opposition event.  Opposition sources admit 
that some demonstrators are armed, but NGO records show no 
general trend of arresting demonstrators for illegal use of a 
weapon.  According to PROVEA, charges range from engaging in 
violent behavior to civil rebellion, and some detainees have 
been held and released without charges. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
Article 46: Entitlement to respect for physical, mental, and 
moral integrity. 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
 
4. (U) In a majority of detentions, Venezuelan authorities, 
principally the GN, allegedly beat and tortured persons in 
custody.  While human rights NGOs are documenting the alleged 
abuses, PROVEA has confirmed 103 cases of torture and/or use 
of excessive force as of March 12.  Specific alleged actions 
include punching, kicking, beating with helmets and weapons, 
electric shock torture, burning, forced inhalation of tear 
gas, humiliation, and death threats.  On March 17, the Forum 
for Life, an umbrella group for human rights NGOs, publicly 
condemned alleged abuses by the security forces, and strongly 
criticized President Chavez for praising the work of the GN. 
Congratulating such behavior while failing to denounce human 
rights violations, the group said, will only increase future 
violations and cement the GOV's culpability for them.  Human 
 
rights organizations also note that in addition to 
allegations of torture and mistreatment, injured detainees 
were at times denied medical attention. 
 
--------------------------------- 
Article 49: Right to due process. 
--------------------------------- 
 
5. (U) Detainees and their representatives have consistently 
accused the GOV of failing to ensure that due process rights 
are observed.  They allege that the authorities do not ensure 
the right to notify others of the detention, nor the right to 
legal counsel.  They also charge that special protections for 
minors were disregarded in some cases.  Authorities also 
frequently demanded that detainees sign statements absolving 
the GN of allegations of mistreatment.  By doing so, the 
detainee cedes his right to a fair hearing of his case. 
According to PROVEA, this occurred at the time of release and 
even as the detention continues. 
 
----------------------------- 
Violations?  What Violations? 
----------------------------- 
 
6. (U) Despite NGO documentation of serious human rights 
abuses since February 27, Vice President Rangel asserted that 
"there are no human rights violations, there are no 
disappearances, no torture cases," during a March 16 press 
conference.  Rangel recognized only nine deaths in political 
disturbances (the opposition claims 14) and insisted that 
none of the nine died at the hands of the National Guard. 
(Note: VP Rangel may be correct about Guard involvement.  The 
fact is, however, that military and political police (DISIP) 
forces, as well as armed civilians loyal to President Chavez, 
confronted demonstrators.)  He also maintained that no one 
had made an official complaint regarding any of the 
detentions. 
 
-------------------- 
Oh, THOSE Violations 
-------------------- 
 
7. (U) Attorney General Isaias Rodriguez announced the 
opening of 11 abuse complaint investigations (nine in 
Caracas, two in Zulia State) March 9 and denied accusations 
that his office was not addressing the complaints seriously. 
He said that some alleged victims had not yet formulated and 
filed their complaints. 
 
8. (C) Diego Urdaneta told poloff March 17 that he filed an 
abuse complaint with the Attorney General's Office March 4, 
alleging that he was beaten by the National Guard.  During 
the process, he made an official statement and reported to 
the state police (CICPC) forensics specialist for a medical 
examination.  The physician examined him and took notes but 
did not photograph his injuries nor ask what caused them. 
The employee who took Urdaneta's statement urged him to admit 
uncertainty about the identity of his attackers, even though 
he had seen clearly the GN logo on their vehicle and 
uniforms.  Urdaneta's case was assigned to prosecutor 
Gilberto Venere.  Venere's secretary told Urdaneta that his 
complaint was the 12th received so far, but that no further 
complaints were to be accepted.  A few days later, the 
secretary told Urdaneta that some prosecutors had been fired 
 
SIPDIS 
because they had accepted complaints after the cut-off date. 
 
 
------------------------------ 
Examples of Alleged Violations 
------------------------------ 
 
9. (U) Carlos Eduardo Izcaray, cellist and conductor with the 
Venezuela Symphony Orchestra, was arrested March 1 while 
observing demonstrations in the Altamira neighborhood of 
Caracas.  Izcaray said the GN beat and tortured him with 
electricity, then threatened to kill him. 
 
- Reverend Dorindo Burgo was swept up with other 
demonstrators in Altamira February 29, even though his most 
provocative behavior appears to have been reading from the 
constitution to the National Guard.  He was beaten, then 
asked to sign a statement absolving the GN of responsibility 
for beating him as the condition for his release.  Burgo 
 
claims he initially refused to sign, then changed his mind 
due to the "lack of value for signatures" in Venezuela. 
 
- David Rubio, an opposition spokesperson, was intercepted by 
state police in San Cristobal, Tachira State the evening of 
February 29 while driving home with companions.  He was kept 
incommunicado throughout the night.  He was permitted to 
contact his lawyers the next morning, but authorities did not 
inform the lawyers of the charges against him until the 
following day.  He is charged with civil rebellion and 
obstructing a public thoroughfare, though he was uninvolved 
in any opposition event at the time of his detention. 
 
- Diego Urdaneta, son of a US citizen, told poloff that on 
March 1, the GN kicked and beat him with batons and other 
weapons and also threatened to kill him, then let him go. 
 
- Pedro Martin claims the GN shot him with a plastic bullet 
February 27, then waited four hours before sending him to a 
hospital. 
 
- National Guardsmen in Carabobo State shot demonstrator 
Pedro Jose Sanchez March 4, then took him to the local GN 
headquarters, rather than to a hospital.  Sanchez died from 
lack of medical attention. 
 
- Alejandro Valera was beaten and shot by the GN on February 
27, then placed in a "cage" for four hours. 
 
- On March 1, 17 demonstrators were detained in Yaracuy 
State, including five minors.  The state children's rights 
officer filed a negligence complaint against the case 
prosecutor for failing to order medical exams for the minors 
who were allegedly tortured by the GN. 
 
- In Zulia State, demonstrator Pedro Rodriguez was detained 
and beaten by the GN, then required to sign a statement that 
negated the beating. 
 
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COMMENT 
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9. (C) Brutality at the hands of the National Guard and other 
security forces is not new in Venezuela.  The Chavez 
Government will likely continue playing down the alleged 
abuses, even while claiming to be the most democratic regime 
in Venezuelan history.  Human rights organizations, however, 
are keeping track.  Probably one of the most difficult tasks 
they face -- beyond even getting the government to 
acknowledge the cases -- is helping the victims document 
their cases.  They are making some headway, but impediments 
such as the limitations placed by the Attorney General's 
Office will continue to make things difficult. 
SHAPIRO 
 
 
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      2004CARACA00975 - CONFIDENTIAL