US embassy cable - 04CARACAS1116

C O N F I D E N T I A L  CARACAS 001116 
 
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: WHEN CHAVISTAS ATTACK: OPPOSITION ACCUSATIONS/GOV 
DENIALS 
 
REF: CARACAS 00809 
 
Classified By: Abelardo A. Arias, Political Counselor, for reasons 1.4 
(B) and (D) 
 
------- 
Summary 
------- 
 
1. (C) The Coordinadora Democratica (CD) documented 210 
assaults on opposition supporters by civilians or 
plainclothes security forces between February 27 and March 5. 
 National Assembly Deputy Pedro Diaz Blum (Proyecto 
Venezuela) told poloff March 17 that National Guard troops 
allowed armed Chavistas to fire at opposition crowds during 
Caracas, Merida, and Valencia protests.  Opposition and GOV 
leaders argued whether the murder of two opposition activists 
taken from a Caracas mini-bus was politically motivated or 
drug related.  GOV leaders assert armed criminals or 
opposition provocateurs are responsible for protest deaths, 
not security forces or pro-GOV civilians. End Summary. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
CD: 210 Attacks by Civilians/Plainclothes Police 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
2. (C) Coordinadora Democratica (CD) Judicial Advisor D'lsa 
Solorzano told poloff March 23 that the CD has documented 210 
politically-motivated assaults on opposition supporters by 
groups in civilian cloths between February 27 and March 5. 
Determining how many of the attackers are civilians is 
difficult, Solorzano acknowledged, because the CD figures 
include plainclothes security forces and civilian groups 
mixed with off-duty and/or undercover security forces. 
Solorzano said  the assailants could be armed fanatics of 
President Hugo Chavez (Chavistas), more organized pro-Chavez 
Bolivarian Circle members, pro-Chavez criminal gangs, GOV 
security forces in plainclothes, or any combination of the 
groups.  Still, she asserted armed Chavista civilians were to 
blame for most of the cases. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
Chavistas Attack/Kidnap Demonstrators February 27 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
3. (C) Solorzano claimed about 10 civilian Chavistas attacked 
her and other marchers on a side street after the National 
Guard broke up the February 27 march in Caracas.  She said 
the group used National Guard issue rifles and tear gas bombs 
and were protected by a National Guard motorcyclists.  One of 
her escorts was beaten and she received a minor blow to her 
leg.  Solorzano claimed armed Chavistas attacked other 
marchers on side streets, while the National Guard clashed 
with the head of the march "where the media was focused." 
Seven protesters, now listed as missing, were forced into a 
van by civilians February 27, according to Solorzano. 
 
4. (C) National Assembly Deputy Pedro Diaz Blum (Proyecto 
Venezuela) told poloff March 17 that National Guard troops in 
Valencia "didn't have to" fire at opposition protesters 
because armed civilians did it for them.  Diaz Blum said 
relatives in Valencia saw armed Chavistas February 27 firing 
weapons at opposition crowds from behind National Guard 
troops, resulting in one death.  Although he conceded 
determining the degree of Guard cooperation with armed 
civilians is difficult, Diaz Blum suspected civilians or 
off-duty soldiers provide National Guard commanders 
deniability for casualties and allow them to skip asking rank 
and file to fire on crowds.  He claimed violent Chavista 
groups also used soldiers for cover and/or protection in 
Caracas and Merida.  Chavista civilians are more organized, 
armed, and integrated with security forces since Chavez's 
brief ouster April 11, 2002, Diaz Blum asserted.  He claimed 
a GOV source told him 200,000 Venezuelans have visited Cuba 
for political training that included civil defense courses, 
now being used to combat protesters. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
Chavistas Responded to Merida Governor's Battle Cry 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
5. (C) Consular Agent Michele Lee told poloff March 24 that 
 
 
Merida Governor Florencio Porras called on Chavistas "to take 
back the streets" March 3, after days of student-led 
protests.  After nightfall, Chavista civilians responded and 
dispersed several small opposition protests by shooting into 
the air, at burning tires, at apartment buildings, and at a 
student government building, according to Lee and student 
leader Nixon Moreno (ref).  Moreno brought testimony to 
poloff March 11 about the March 2 shooting of Argenis 
Dugarte, allegedly by the pro-Chavez student group Utopia. 
Dugarte died early on March 3. 
 
6. (C) MVR Deputy Luis Velazquez told poloff March 24 that an 
alleged Chavista attack on a student government building in 
Merida March 3 "simply did not occur" and that investigators 
would expose it as an elaborate opposition hoax, despite 
CICPC comments that the shooters meant to kill.  Velazquez 
refused to talk about details of this or any case, 
purportedly due to the ongoing nature of the investigations. 
He claimed armed opposition infiltrators were responsible for 
dead and injured protesters. 
 
------------------------------------- 
Mini-Bus Murders: Blaming the Victims 
------------------------------------- 
 
7. (C) Two of the deaths that occurred during the February 27 
- March 4 confrontations blurred political/criminal lines. 
Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) activist Gustavo Farias told 
poloff March 19 that a pro-Chavez gang/political party called 
the Tupamaros killed two opposition leaders (Dictor Damas and 
Jose Luis Ricaurte Blanco) the night of March 3.  Farias said 
a group of opposition leaders in the 23 of January barrio 
decided to cancel a protest after Tupamaros staked out the 
publicized location.  Four of the leaders were later accosted 
in a mini-bus and taken to the El Calvario neighborhood by 
armed, masked civilians, where each was shot twice in the 
head, two fatally, according to Farias and press reports.  He 
worked with the four men in the sports promotion office of 
Caracas Metropolitan Mayor Alfredo Pena. 
 
8. (C) Farias said one of survivors (Hebert Eduardo Vela) was 
transferred to a hospital at an undisclosed private hospital 
in Miranda, with help of Miranda Governor Enrique Mendoza and 
Pena.  Tupamaros allegedly cased the first hospital and have 
been spreading pamphlets with death threats for helping the 
survivors or implicating the group.  Farias claimed the other 
survivor, Dimas Marcano, told him he was grazed by one bullet 
and another missed him entirely.  Farias suspects Marcano, 
who abandoned the Tupamaros for the opposition six months 
ago, was either spared by his former colleagues or may be 
Tupamaro plant. 
 
9. (C) Although National Investigative Police (CICPC) have 
kept Marcano's identity a secret, daily El Universal 
published a complete list of victims March 16, based on 
charges made by the Tupamaros that all four were drug 
dealers.  Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel said that he 
would wait for the investigation to comment, but then noted 
he also had heard the victims were drug dealers.  Mayor Pena 
defended his employees, and characterized the murder as 
politically motivated. 
 
------------------------------------- 
GOV Blames Armed Opposition Civilians 
------------------------------------- 
 
10. (U) At a meeting with diplomats March 16, Vice President 
Rangel implicitly denied GOV complicity with armed civilians. 
 In addition, he said the National Guard can not be 
responsible for any shootings because they are not authorized 
to use "arms of war" in crowd control and, in any event, the 
bullets are the wrong caliber.  (Note: opposition contacts 
reported security forces using non-standard weapons to 
conceal their involvement.)  Rangel blamed the opposition for 
being "excessive" by using Molotov cocktails and firing on 
security forces, supposedly proven by numerous bullet marks 
on National Guard tanks. 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
 
11. (C) The GOV's denial of an armed pro-GOV civilian 
presence during the February 27 to March 5 protests 
contradicts video evidence of armed groups in civilian 
clothes walking the streets and attacking protesters.  Post 
finds it much likelier that these groups are Chavistas than 
opposition agent provocateurs.  Even if some were undercover 
security forces, they would still be illegally using "weapons 
of war." 
SHAPIRO 
 
 
NNNN 
 
      2004CARACA01116 - CONFIDENTIAL