US embassy cable - 04CARACAS3577

C O N F I D E N T I A L  CARACAS 003577 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
NSC FOR C. BARTON 
USCINCSO ALSO FOR POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/08/2013 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, KDEM, VE 
SUBJECT: KILLING OF POLITICAL PROSECUTOR 
 
Classified By: Political Counselor Abelardo A. Arias for reason 1.4 (d) 
. 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1.  (C)  Venezuelan prosecutor Danilo Anderson was killed the 
night of November 18, according to press reports and the GoV, 
as he traveled home in his personal vehicle.  More than a 
dozen GoV officials and government supporters, among them 
Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel, went to the site of the 
incident while investigators scoured for evidence.  President 
Hugo Chavez scrubbed his attendance at San Jose's 
Ibero-American Summit, citing the seriousness of the 
incident, which opposition and government supporters have 
repudiated.  As the GoV's leading prosecutor on political 
cases, Anderson was pursuing cases against some 400 persons 
for the April 2002 events, including most recently charging 
the former Mayor of Caracas and his police chiefs for murder. 
 The GoV is likely to use the incident to further tar Chavez 
opponents as violent and to press for greater U.S. 
cooperation, with a dose of criticism, on doing something 
about foes in our country.  End Summary. 
 
2.  (U) At approximately 11:00 p.m. November 18, according to 
press reports, the car in which Venezeulan prosecutor Danilo 
Anderson was driving exploded on the streets of Caracas' 
Santa Monica neighborhood.  Anderson was the government's 
leading prosecutor on political cases.  He had pressed the 
case against Baruta Mayor Henrique Capriles for allegedly 
failing to protect the Cuban Embassy during the events of 
April 2002.  He subsequently began investigating some 400 
persons for their alleged support of the short-lived 
government of Pedro Carmona in April 2002.  Most recently, 
Anderson had begun to prosecute former Caracas Mayor Alfredo 
Pena and his two highest ranking police officials, alleging 
that they were responsible for the deaths of demonstrators at 
the hands of the Metropolitan Police in April 2002. 
 
3.  (U) GoV authorities initially only speculated that the 
victim was Anderson, and more than half a dozen officials 
visited the site of the incident.  Among the officials 
present were Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel, Ministers 
Andres Izarra (Communication and Information), Rafael Ramirez 
(Energy) and Jesse Chacon (Interior), Attorney General Isaias 
Rodriguez, National Electoral Council director Jorge 
Rodriguez, Mayors Juan Barreto and Freddy Bernal, Miranda 
State Gov. Diosdado Cabello and numerous pro-GoV National 
Assembly deputies.  An official at the capital's morgue 
confirmed that the victim was Anderson nearly twelve hours 
after the incident. 
 
4.  (U) President Hugo Chavez decided to cancel his trip to 
San Jose, Costa Rica to attend the Ibero-American Summit, 
Communications Minister Izarra told reporters.  Izarra did 
not comment on whether the President intended to cancel the 
rest of his foreign travel itinerary.  Chavez is scheduled to 
also travel to Spain, Russia and Iran on this jaunt out of 
the country. 
 
5.  (U) Pro-government and opposition figures alike 
repudiated the incident.  Spokesperson for various political 
parties called on Venezuelans to reject violence.  Caracas 
Mayor Juan Barreto, who had gathered a group of supporters in 
front of the Public Ministry to call for a full investigation 
of the incident, congratulated the opposition for condemning 
the violence.  VP Rangel said the GoV would investigate the 
case to its fullest capacity, and called for the people to 
remain serene.  Rangel called the killing a brutal act of 
terrorism, against dialogue and the rule of law. 
 
6.  (C) The Ambassador spoke with VP Rangel at noon November 
19 to express condolences and offer any information we might 
develop on the incident.  Rangel asked that any communication 
be through the state intelligence service (DISIP), and asked 
why the U.S. had taken no steps against Orlando Urdaneta, a 
Venezuelan citizen who reportedly made threatening remarks 
against President Chavez on a Miami television station in 
October.  Ambassador responded that we so far had only 
received a diplomatic note of protest on the Urdaneta matter; 
should the GoV seek specific operational information or 
assistance, we would respond accordingly. 
 
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COMMENT 
 
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7.  (C)  Initial reactions across the Venezuelan political 
spectrum appropriately repudiate and reject this act of 
violence.  Unfortunately, it will likely only be a matter of 
time before the GoV turns its sights to political enemies to 
blame for Anderson's killing regardless of the evidence. 
Anderson himself had certainly made many enemies in his 
investigations, so many that conducting any full professional 
investigation in itself would be daunting work. Easier 
targets for the government, for example, are the dissident 
military officers that have been in hiding for weeks and 
months.  Certainly we can expect pro-government voices to 
begin chastising opponents, alleging that their desire to get 
rid of President Chavez at whatever cost led to Anderson's 
demise.  We can also expect the GoV to set its sights on us, 
directly or indirectly, pressing with a dose of criticism for 
greater cooperation from us to do something about their foes 
-- all who they allege to be terrorists -- in our country. 
 
8.  (C) This act of terrorism will heighten the GoV and 
Chavez's fear that there are opponents who will try to kill 
them.  The murder also presents the GoV with an opportunity 
to seek ways to crack down on all opponents, including 
continuation of the cases Anderson has been prosecuting. 
Brownfield 
 
 
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      2004CARACA03577 - CONFIDENTIAL