US embassy cable - 05CARACAS486

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CARACAS 000486 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NSC FOR CBARTON 
USCINCSO ALSO FOR POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/25/2014 
TAGS: PHUM, PGOV, KJUS, VE 
SUBJECT: CHAVEZ VETOES PENAL CODE REFORM 
 
REF: CARACAS 00168 
 
Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ABELARDO A. ARIAS FOR REASONS 1.4 (d 
) 
 
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Summary 
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1.  (U)  On February 3 President Hugo Chavez vetoed 
amendments to Venezuela's Penal Code approved by the National 
Assembly on January 6, according to press reports and public 
statements by various legislators.  In vetoing the 
legislation, the President returns the bill to the Assembly 
with observations for correction.  According to press 
reports, the observations concern the constitutionality of 
measures to eliminate bail and alternative sentencing options 
for several crimes, and the vague drafting of other articles. 
 End Summary. 
 
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Veto Reported 
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2.  (U)  President Hugo Chavez vetoed amendments to 
Venezuela's Penal Code on February 3 that the National 
Assembly passed on January 6 (reftel), according to 
Venezuelan press reports.  The president has veto power under 
article 214 of the constitution, which requires him to return 
the law to the National Assembly with specific well reasoned 
objections within ten days of passage of legislation.  The 
Assembly can then accept or reject the observations of the 
executive.  The document containing the veto was not 
distributed to deputies until February 10.  The principal 
objection, per news accounts, was the elimination of bail and 
parole provisions for several felonies, including theft and 
robbery, and the vagueness with which other articles were 
drafted. 
 
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Prison Crisis 
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3.  (U)  An anonymous source at the Solicitor General's 
office told daily newspaper El Universal February 8 that the 
veto was related to the prison crisis in the country.  At the 
end of 2004 a nationwide hunger strike broke out in 
Venezuela's prisons, protesting the extremely poor 
conditions, overcrowding, violence and lack of access to 
alternatives to prison for many prisoners until they have 
completed half their sentence.  The amendments would have 
eliminated procedural "benefits" for several categories of 
common crime, including theft, rape, murder, and kidnapping, 
as well as for conspiracy against government, sabotage, and 
aiding subversion.  These benefits include the right to be 
released on bail pending trial, the right to alternatives to 
prison if convicted, and parole.  Movimiento al Socialismo 
(MAS) Deputy Nicolas Sosa noted February 9 that the 
amendments would make it harder to release prisoners just 
when the executive was negotiating with prisoners on how to 
relieve overcrowding in prisons and ease access to prison 
alternatives. 
 
4.  (U)  Opponents of President Chavez had argued in the 
National Assembly during debates on the amendments that the 
benefits were in the constitution, as rights, and that the 
Organic Criminal Procedure Law could not be modified by a 
criminal code reform.  According to El Universal's source in 
the Solicitor General's office, that the suppression of the 
benefits is unconstitutional is one of the main points of the 
executive veto. 
 
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Lack of Communication? 
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5.  (C)  Movimiento Quinta Republica (MVR) Deputy Luis Tascon 
told reporters February 9 that the president's objection to 
the amendments was based on constitutional grounds.  Tascon 
blamed lack of communication among the different governmental 
powers, specifically the Assembly and the Supreme Court and 
Solicitor General's office for the President's veto.  MVR 
Deputy Calixto Ortega, on the other hand, said the veto 
illustrated the independence of the legislative branch 
vis-a-vis the executive branch. "This serves to show that it 
is false that the legislature only does what Miraflores 
wants," Ortega said.  On December 15 Tascon's assistant 
Fernando Avila told PolOff that Tascon and Ortega were among 
the MVR Deputies who had strongly objected to the amendments, 
pushed by MVR Deputy Iris Varela and the pro-Chavez Assembly 
leadership.  Varela told reporters February 10 that all the 
executive's objections would be accepted, and that the new 
version of the bill was almost ready. She played down the 
importance of the veto and the seriousness of the objections. 
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Opposition Reaction 
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6.  (U)  Opposition legislators welcomed the veto.  Movement 
to Socialism (MAS) Secretary General and Deputy Leopoldo 
Puchi told reporters it presented an opportunity to correct 
errors.  Primero Justicia (PJ) Deputy Gerardo Blyde pointed 
out the opposition had made the same critique of the bill the 
executive was now making.  He said PJ would now push for a 
total reform of the penal code, rather than modifying the 
amendments. Blyde speculated that concern within the 
executive over the international reaction to the amendments 
may have prompted the veto. 
 
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Comment 
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7.  (C)  The Executive's objections to the amendments have 
not yet been made public, so it is not clear which provisions 
are in question.  Most of the information available, however, 
supports the version that the objections relate to the 
potential aggravation of the prison situation rather than to 
concern about violation or abuse of human rights. For now, 
nonetheless, the veto puts on hold legal provisions that 
would have serious human rights implications. 
Brownfield