US embassy cable - 04CARACAS2734

C O N F I D E N T I A L CARACAS 002734 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/26/2014 
TAGS: PHUM, PREL, VE 
SUBJECT: ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE REQUIRES DIP NOTE FOR 
HUMAN RIGHTS INFORMATION 
 
Classified By: A/DCM ABELARDO A. ARIAS FOR REASONS 1.4 (d) 
 
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Summary 
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1.  (C) Alis Boscan, Director of the Office for the 
Protection of Fundamental Rights at the Attorney General's 
office, told PolOff August 26 that the Embassy would have to 
make a formal request to the Attorney General to get 
information for the Human Rights Report. Boscan promised to 
begin compiling the information as soon as we faxed her a 
copy of the Dip Note formally requesting assistance. Boscan 
said the Dip Note should include the specific cases we wanted 
information on, and a request for statistics on human rights 
violations by public officials. End Summary. 
 
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The Cold Shoulder 
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2.  (C) PolOff went to see Alis Boscan, Director of the 
Office for the Protection of Fundamental Rights at the 
Attorney General's office, on August 26 to request her 
cooperation in providing statistics on human rights abuses in 
Venezuela. Boscan's office is in charge of overseeing 
investigations into human rights abuses by public officials 
in Venezuela. Boscan was extremely defensive, asking for 
proof that the office had cooperated in the past, and 
accusing the State Department of taking statistics off the 
internet and claiming they came from the Attorney General's 
office. 
 
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With Or Without You 
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3.  (C) PolOff explained to Boscan that the report is a 
professional document and that we do not misattribute 
information. PolOff explained the origin of the report as a 
congressional mandate, and made it clear to Boscan that the 
report could and would be written with the contribution of 
human rights groups and newspaper reports if the Attorney 
General's office did not wish to contribute. 
 
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Dip Note 
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4.  (C) Boscan said that she understood our request, and that 
we would have to make a formal request to the Attorney 
General for statistics on human rights abuses, and 
information on specific cases. Boscan said we could fax her 
the note and she would begin to prepare the information while 
the official request made its way through the bureaucracy. 
 
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Comment 
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5.  (C) It will not be easy to get GOV officials to cooperate 
in the elaboration of the human rights report. Boscan was 
clearly nervous about having to deal with the Embassy, and 
was defensive and negative from the start. We expect similar 
reactions from the Ministry of Interior and Human Rights 
Ombudsman's office. 
McFarland 
 
 
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      2004CARACA02734 - CONFIDENTIAL