US embassy cable - 04CARACAS1880

C O N F I D E N T I A L  CARACAS 001880 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
NSC FOR CBARTON 
USCINCSO ALSO FOR POLAD 
USAID DCHA/OTI FOR RPORTER 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/25/2014 
TAGS: PHUM, PGOV, KDEM, VE 
SUBJECT: STATUS OF CAPRILES AND SUMATE CASES 
 
 
Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ABELARDO A. ARIAS FOR REASONS 1.4 (d 
) 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1.  (U) Maria Corina Machado, of the electoral NGO Sumate 
told reporters June 1 that the hearing to charge her with 
treason and conspiracy had been rescheduled for the second 
time until June 10. Another Sumate leader, Alejandro Plaz, is 
scheduled to have his hearing June 2. On May 31, a Caracas 
court rejected a request from Baruta Mayor Henrique Capriles 
Radonski (Primero Justicia) for release pending trial. He has 
been held since May 11. He is being charged with allegedly 
participating in the attack on the Cuban embassy during the 
April 2002 events. Both cases are clearly political and 
arbitrary, according to OAS SYG Cesar Gaviria.  Capriles is a 
political prisoner.  Macahdo and Plaz are in danger of 
becoming political prisoners.  End Summary. 
 
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Sumate 
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2. (U) Maria Corina Machado, one of the leaders of the NGO 
Sumate, told reporters June 1 that the hearing to charge her 
was postponed until June 10, to give her time to prepare her 
defense. Alejandro Plaz, the president of Sumate, will go 
before the judge June 2. The charges of treason and 
conspiracy stem from funding the group received from the 
National Endowment for Democracy (NED), which GOV officials 
have charged is a violation of Venezuelan sovereignty. The 
two were first called to appear on May 26 and 27 
respectively, but the hearings were postponed until June 1 
and 2. 
 
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Henrique Capriles Radonski 
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3.  (U) The seventh chamber of the Appeals Court of Caracas 
May 31 rejected the request by Primero Justicia (PJ) leader, 
and Mayor of Baruta, Henrique Capriles Radonski for release 
pending trial. Capriles' lawyers also attempted to have the 
case heard by another chamber, arguing that the members of 
the chamber were well known Chavez supporters who would not 
give Capriles a fair hearing. The request was denied, meaning 
Capriles now will spend an additional 25 days in detention. 
 
4.  (U) PJ president Julio Borges announced May 28 that the 
Inter-American Human Rights Committee (IACHR) had asked the 
GOV for information on the Capriles case. The IACHR Executive 
Secretary Santiago Canton, according to Borges, asked for 
 
SIPDIS 
information on the legal proceedings in the case, and the 
conditions under which Capriles was being held. Borges told 
reporters Capriles is being held in a room without light, 
without ventilation, and is unable to walk or exercise. 
Prosecutor Danilo Anderson has claimed that Capriles has 16 
square meters of space, a bed, a TV and two fans, and thus is 
better off than most preisoners. 
 
5.  (C) Former Attorney General and law professor Ramon 
Escobar Salom told PolCouns that Capriles's continued 
detention is purely political. At this stage of an 
investigation, he said, following the criminal procedures 
code would normally result in the individual being allowed to 
go free on promise of appearance or on bail, especially if 
the person is well known, not to mention an elected official. 
In Escobar's opinion, the government wants to exemplify its 
support for Cuba in this matter. He also asserted that 
anti-Semitism cannot be disregarded as a factor in the 
government's animosity towards Capriles.  (Comment: Capriles 
legally maneuvered around earlier summonses until the March 
16 detention order (see next paragraph) was issued and he 
went underground. The court bought the prosecutor's argument 
that Capriles thus presented a flight risk.  We do not 
believe anti-Semitism is a factor in Capriles's case.) 
 
6.  (U) Capriles has been in custody since he appeared at a 
hearing on May 11 during which Anderson asked that he be held 
pending trial. The judge agreed, and ordered that he be held 
in the DISIP (political police) headquarters. Anderson first 
obtained a detention order March 16. At that time Capriles 
avoided detention by going into hiding, alleging lack of due 
process because Anderson would not let his lawyers see the 
charges. The Penal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice 
(TSJ) voided the March 16 order on March 31. The Penal 
chamber also ordered that another court hear the case and 
that Capriles' lawyers be allowed to see the charges. 
 
7.  (U) The Capriles case goes back to the April 2002 events. 
On April 12, 2002, after Chavez' removal from power, a group 
of people gathered in front of the Cuban embassy and began a 
violent protest. According to Capriles the Cuban ambassador, 
German Sanchez Otero, asked him to come and help calm the 
situation (Note: the Cuban embassy is located in Baruta). 
According to the GOV, Capriles led the protests, and the 
Baruta police did nothing to protect the embassy. 
 
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President Carter Talks to Chavez 
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8.  (C) OAS Secretary General Cesar Gaviria told the 
Ambassador June 1 that President Carter raised the Capriles 
and Sumate cases with President Chavez at a private meeting 
May 31. Gaviria called the cases "arbitrary" and "clearly 
political."  Gaviria rejected the possibility that the Sumate 
projects financed by NED could be considered treason. 
 
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Comment 
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9.  (C) The GOV's moves against Sumate's leaders, in the 
middle of the reparo process, smacks of intimidation. Sumate 
is the technical brains of the opposition's referendum 
strategy, and the GOV would love to unsettle the 
organization. Machado and Plaz have responded intelligently, 
giving no grounds to claim they might flee, and requesting 
delays to prepare the case. This has made the case a mere 
distraction during the reparos. If the real intention is to 
break the organization to prevent its participation in future 
elections, there is a danger the Chavista judicial system 
will eventually put Sumate out of business. The Capriles case 
foreshadows where the Chavista justice system is headed. 
There is no explanation for why the Penal Chamber's decision 
has been disregarded. 
SHAPIRO 
 
 
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      2004CARACA01880 - CONFIDENTIAL