US embassy cable - 05CARACAS221

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CARACAS 000221 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NOFORN 
 
NSC FOR CBARTON 
USCINCSO ALSO FOR POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/25/2014 
TAGS: PGOV, PTER, KJUS, VE 
SUBJECT: UPDATE ON INVESTIGATION INTO VENEZUELAN 
PROSECUTOR'S KILLING 
 
 
Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ABELARDO A. ARIAS FOR REASONS 1.4 (d 
) 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1.  (C)  On January 13 Venezuelan prosecutors formally 
accused three suspects as the material authors of the murder 
of Venezuelan prosecutor Danilo Anderson.  According to 
information investigators provided EmbOffs, there are no 
solid leads as to the intellectual authors of the crime. (The 
investigators have sought limited U.S. law enforcement 
assistance which we are providing.)  Focusing on one 
possibility, Venezuelan Interior Minister Jesse Chacon 
announced January 4 that investigators had found indications 
that lawyers close to Anderson were extorting money from some 
of the 400 people Anderson was investigating for signing the 
Carmona Decree.  According to press reports, prosecutors took 
the case away from the police team that was investigating on 
January 21, for the second time since Anderson's death.  DEA 
reports that the lead inspector was removed, and the case 
files seized by prosecutors on January 22.  End Summary. 
 
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Guevaras Accused 
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2.  (U)  On January 13 prosecutors filed a formal accusation 
against the brothers Rolando and Otoniel Guevara, and their 
cousin Juan Bautista Guevara as the material authors of the 
death of prosecutor Danilo Anderson, which occurred on 
November 18, 2004. Two other suspects were killed by police 
in the days following the assassination. Arrest warrants were 
also issued for two other suspects, Pedro Lander and Johan 
Pena. Newspaper reports mention other possible suspects, but 
authorities have taken no action. 
 
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Intellectual Authors? 
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3.  (U)  Attorney General Isaias Rodriguez told reporters 
January 5 that prosecutors are still investigating several 
different theories about who may have ordered the 
assassination of Anderson. According to press reports, there 
is no information in the case file against the Guevara that 
indicates why Anderson was killed. Most of the evidence in 
the case consists of phone records, witnesses who place the 
suspects at the scene of the crime, and testimony from one 
Venezuelan citizen in Miami. 
 
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Cooperation 
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4.  (C)  GOV investigators approached post DEA 
representatives in December to request their assistance in 
the case. The contact was a member of the DEA vetted unit who 
is also a member of the team investigating the case. GOV 
investigators requested assistance in contacting and taking 
testimony from a source in Miami, who had allegedly contacted 
them about the case. DEA agreed to assist based on past 
allegations of drug smuggling activity by the suspects in the 
case. A DEA agent in Miami accompanied a GOV delegation to 
Miami. The delegation spoke with the source in the Venezuelan 
Consulate in Miami, without the agent being present. The GOV 
delegation then returned to Venezuela. 
 
5.  (C)  LegAtt was briefed by GOV investigators, and 
reported there are multiple theories about why Anderson was 
killed, and who may have ordered it. At least one of these 
theories, based on the evidence given by the source in Miami, 
places the intellectual authors in the U.S. U.S. law 
enforcement authorities are collaborating with the Venezuelan 
investigation, including looking for Lander and Pena in the 
U.S. LegAtt is also working with the FBI Miami field office 
on a possible Neutrality Act violation on the part of the 
alleged material authors, and using this to start an 
independent investigation, and question the Venezuelan source 
in Miami. 
 
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Of Rebellion and Extortion 
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5.  (C)  Immediately after the assassination, GOV officials 
suggested the intellectual authors were either linked to the 
military officers from Plaza Altamira, or to the opposition 
leaders being investigated by Anderson in relation to the 
events of April 11, 2002. On January 4, however, Interior 
Minister Jesse Chacon revealed that investigators were now 
looking into the possibility that lawyers linked to Anderson 
were extorting money from some of the 400 suspects in the 
Carmona Decree case. Chacon described a system involving two 
groups of lawyers, one linked to Anderson, and the other to 
bankers being investigated. Chacon neither confirmed nor 
denied Anderson's involvement. Attorney General Isaias 
Rodriguez confirmed the investigation January 5, but denied 
Anderson had been involved. Fernando Avila, assistant to 
Deputy Luis Tascon (Movimiento Quinta Republica) told PolOff 
January 18 that President Chavez was furious over the 
possibility that Anderson might be involved in corruption. 
 
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Case File Seized 
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6.  (C)  Press reports on January 21 said that the 
prosecutors investigating the case were reorganizing the 
police team in charge of the case. This is the second such 
reorganization since the investigation began. According to 
DEA, prosecutors raided the police headquarters where the 
investigating team was based, and seized the case files on 
January 22. 
 
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Comment 
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7.  (C)  The Anderson case is turning into an embarrassment 
for the GOV. Anderson was turned into a hero of the 
revolution following his death, and the authorities promised 
quick and exemplary punishment of the material and 
intellectual authors. While they have killed two suspects and 
have claimed to have captured or identified the material 
authors, the investigation of the intellectual authors has 
bogged down. Meanwhile there are indications  -- of 
undetermined credibility -- that Anderson was dirty, and 
could have been killed in a a very unheroic settling of 
scores.  U.S. law enforcement representatives at post believe 
the possible violation of the Neutrality Act with regards to 
Anderson's killing, based upon GOV information, could provide 
the basis for a U.S. investigation. In the meantime, they are 
cooperating with Venezuelan investigators in the spirit of 
the signed, but not yet in force, Mutual Legal Assistance 
Treaty. 
BROWNFIELD