US embassy cable - 04CARACAS3846

C O N F I D E N T I A L  CARACAS 003846 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
NSC FOR CBARTON 
USCINCSO ALSO FOR POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/25/2014 
TAGS: PGOV, KJUS, VE 
SUBJECT: VENEZUELAN ASSEMBLY APPOINTS NEW SUPREME COURT 
JUSTICES 
 
Classified By: A/DCM ABELARDO A. ARIAS FOR REASONS 1.4 (d) 
 
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Summary 
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1.  (U)  Venezuela's National Assembly appointed 17 new 
Supreme Court justices and 32 alternates December 13.  The 
appointments expanded the Court by 12 justices, and replaced 
5 retired or removed justices.  Opposition Deputies boycotted 
the vote.  Among those appointed are two Deputies from 
President Chavez' Fifth Republic Movement and the National 
Electoral Council President Francisco Carrasquero.  These 
appointments give President Chavez full control of the 
Supreme Court.  The pro-Chavez Assembly majority pressed 
through legal procedures in record time, scheduling 
controversial special sessions on days when the legislature 
does not normally meet, to be able to approve the candidates 
with the vote of a simple majority.  End Summary 
 
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TSJ Expansion 
 
SIPDIS 
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2.  (U)  Venezuela's National Assembly appointed 17 new 
Supreme Court Justices and 32 alternate Justices December 13. 
The appointments expand each chamber of the Supreme Court by 
two members, from three to five, except for the 
Constitutional Chamber, which goes from five to seven 
members. The Assembly also replaced four justices who had 
retired and one who was removed by the Assembly. These 
changes to the Court follow the passage of the Organic Law of 
the Supreme Court in May, which expanded the Court from 20 to 
32 justices.  Human Rights Watch called the Supreme Court law 
a grave threat to the independence of the judiciary at the 
time, among other reasons because the expansion of the court 
would allow the GOV to stack the Court with partisan 
justices. 
 
3.  (C)  National Assembly Deputy Leopoldo Martinez 
(Construyendo Pais) said the appointments also increase the 
potential for corruption. He told A/DCM December 14 that the 
practice is for the justices alternates to set up offices, 
staffed with several lawyers, which then "advise" interested 
parties on matters that they have, or may wish to bring, 
before the court.  The alternates receive no direct salaries, 
only stipends when they actually sit in for the justices, so 
they obtain income from their offices.  The justices 
themselves receive a monthly salary of 18 million bolivares 
(approx.$9,300) and are paid 15 months per year. 
 
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4th Time's the Charm 
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4.  (U)  The Supreme Court law requires that the Assembly 
make three attempts to obtain the two-thirds majority to 
appoint justices called for in the constitution.  If the 
Assembly is unable to arrive at a consensus, however, the law 
allows the Assembly to appoint the justices with a simple 
majority on the fourth vote.  The Assembly met three times 
beginning the week of December 6, including special sessions 
on idle days and days assigned to committee work, to elect 
the justices.  The pro-Chavez Assembly leadership staged no 
votes during these sessions, nor did it reveal the name of 
the proposed justices.  They instead canceled the sessions on 
confirming that they did not have the required two-thirds 
majority.  The opposition boycotted the culminating December 
13 session as a consequence. 
 
5.  (U)  The simple majority requirement meant that the 
pro-GOV parties in the Assembly could appoint justices with 
their 86 Deputies alone. They used the opposition boycott, 
however, to bring in the pro-GOV alternates of some 
opposition Deputies to bolster the vote. (Note: Some 
opposition Deputies have pro-Chavez alternates, because they 
were originally elected on a pro-Chavez ticket.) This led the 
final vote on the judicial appointments to be 100 to 101 
votes (depending on the candidate) in favor. 
 
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Famous Faces 
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6.  (U)  Among those appointed to the Court were former 
 
 
Electoral Council president Francisco Carrasquero, pro-Chavez 
Deputies Luis Franceschi and Luis Velasquez Alvaray, and the 
chief military prosecutor, Eladio Aponte.  Deputy Juan Carlos 
Caldera (Convergencia) told reporters December 13 that 
Carrasquero and Velasquez Alvaray were being "rewarded" by 
the GOV for services rendered. Former Supreme Court Justice 
Carlos Escarra, nominated for one of the positions, claimed 
that many of the candidates had "excellent credentials", 
including Carrasquero. Rafael Simon Jimenez (Vamos), claimed 
that, "many of these persons do not have the qualifications 
to occupy a seat on the Supreme Court." 
 
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Comment 
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7.  (C)  The National Assembly has given Chavez a tailor-made 
Supreme Court.  It did so with new-found characteristic 
efficiency, using questionable parliamentary tactics and 
absent an opposition to, at a minimum, make the process more 
difficult.  These appointments guarantee Chavez complete 
control of the Supreme Court. The most significant change is 
in the Penal Chamber, which until now has shown occasional 
flashes of independence. 
Brownfield 
 
 
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      2004CARACA03846 - CONFIDENTIAL