US embassy cable - 04CARACAS1115

C O N F I D E N T I A L  CARACAS 001115 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
NSC FOR CBARTON 
USCINCSO ALSO FOR POLAD 
STATE PASS USAID DCHA/OTI FOR RPORTER 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/25/2014 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, VE 
SUBJECT: FEAR OF REPRISALS AND UNDERREPORTED HUMAN RIGHTS 
ABUSES 
 
REF: CARACAS 00809 
 
Classified By: Abelardo A. Arias, Political Counselor, for reasons 1.4 
(B) and (D) 
 
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Summary 
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1. (C) The Coordinadora Democratica (CD) claims its figures 
on human rights violations are the most accurate in 
Venezuela, though they are higher than those reported by the 
media and NGOs.  DCC Judicial Advisor D'lsa Solorzano told 
poloff March 23 that even DCC numbers, do not portray the 
true magnitude of human rights violations because 70 percent 
of the victims fail to report them.  Human rights NGO COFAVIC 
concurred.  One such victim told poloff March 26 that his 
attackers threatened to kill him if he talked.  End Summary. 
 
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Political Group: Defends Its Human Rights Figures 
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2. (C) Coordinadora Democratica (CD) Judicial Advisor D'lsa 
Solorzano told poloff March 23 that the opposition umbrella 
group's human rights abuse figures are larger than GOV, NGO, 
or media estimates because it allows victims to remain 
anonymous.  For instance, she said as of March 23 the DCC 
documented 13 missing opposition sympathizers, compared with 
seven missing people tracked by the media.  Likewise, the DCC 
knows of 26 politically motivated deaths since February 27, 
eleven more deaths than commonly reported by media and NGOs. 
The DCC alleges there are 135 political prisoners, 33 in 
Caracas alone, according to Solorzano, although Caracas daily 
El Universal listed 72 as of March 18. 
 
3. (C) Adriana Sanoja, Media Director of Un Solo Pueblo 
(USP), told poloff March 25 that many victims preferred to 
report crimes to the DCC, rather than official sources they 
don't trust or human rights NGOs they are unfamiliar with, 
because "everyone knows someone in the DCC."  She said some 
opposition sympathizers may trust the openly political DCC 
more then more neutral human rights NGOs, suspecting the 
groups may share information with counterparts in the GOV. 
She also claimed the DCC did a good job publicizing itself as 
a complaint center in the wake of the post February 27 
protests. 
 
4. (C) Sanoja lamented that her party is having trouble 
getting citizens to denounce attacks by armed Chavistas or 
the Sucre municipality's pro-GOV police force publicly.  She 
claimed that people found the formal legal process 
intimidating and threats from neighbors and local MVR leaders 
ensure silence.  "Why should they talk?," asked Sanoja 
rhetorically.  "They have a choice between complaining to a 
justice system that will not help them and the possibility 
that they could lose benefits or even get hurt." 
 
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Most Cases Unreported, Especially in Barrios 
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5. (C) Solorzano asserted that even the DCC figures 
underrepresented the magnitude of the human rights problem in 
Venezuela because only about 30 percent of attacks, whether 
committed by civilian groups or uniformed security forces, 
are reported to GOV institutions or NGOs because of 
retaliation fears from "Chavista authorities."  Liliana 
Ortega, head of Venezuelan human rights NGO COFAVIC, told 
poloff March 24 that Solorzano's estimate of underreported 
attacks is likely correct and that many victims do not report 
the crimes to COFAVIC or any other NGOs due to reprisal 
fears. 
 
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Student Fears Reporting Assault 
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6. (C) Student David Gamez (please protect) told poloff March 
26 that he was attacked by plainclothes off-duty police March 
4 in the Libertador municipality.  Gamez was walking to his 
parent's apartment shortly after 10:30 p.m. when an unmarked 
 
 
car pulled up to the curb in front of him.  Four men in 
civilian clothes emerged and demanded to see his 
identification.  The men told him his identification card was 
a forgery and asked for more identification.  Gamez presented 
his student identification, which they also rejected as fake. 
 They then asked him for his wallet and attacked him when he 
refused to hand it over. 
 
7. (C) According to Gamez the men pistol-whipped him and 
kicked him while calling him "golpista" and "esqualido" 
(literally "coup-monger" and "squalid one," these are 
pejoratives Chavistas use to describe upper-class opposition 
supporters).  As they tried to handcuff him and push him into 
the car, Gamez's friend, who was walking with him, approached 
the scuffle and yelled at the men.  The four then beat 
Gamez's friend for a few minutes, threw Gamez's wallet back 
to him, and appeared to be leaving.  Gamez asked the men to 
return 15,000 Bolivares in his wallet, which prompted another 
beating before they departed. 
 
8. (C) Gamez suspected the men were either off-duty 
Libertador Police or Political Police (DISIP) because they 
wore yellow badges around their necks and referred to the 
older man as commissioner.  They never identified themselves 
and warned not to report the incident "if you know what is 
good for you."  Gamez decided not to report the attack to 
official sources or human rights NGOs on the advise of 
National Guard and police classmates.  His mother, however, 
complained to the Libertador Police without his permission. 
 
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Comment 
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9. (C) As a political organization, the DCC may not be the 
most objective source for human rights violations, but it is 
doing a significant job collecting information.  Solorzano 
and Sanoja make a strong case for why DCC figures only seem 
inflated and are actually low.  There are surely victims who 
have not and will not report human rights violations, a fact 
that will continue to bear on the issue as the GOV plays to 
minimize the dimension of the issue. 
SHAPIRO 
 
 
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      2004CARACA01115 - CONFIDENTIAL