US embassy cable - 05CARACAS646

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CARACAS 000646 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NSC FOR C. BARTON 
USCINCSO ALSO FOR POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/30/2014 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, ELAB, VE 
SUBJECT: BINGO! GOV CAPTURES LABOR LEADER 
 
Classified By: Political Counselor Abelardo A. Arias for reason 1.4 (d) 
. 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1.  (C)  Venezuelan authorities captured Venezuelan Workers' 
Confederation (CTV) President Carlos Ortega outside a Caracas 
bingo hall March 1.  Ortega faces charges of treason, 
conspiracy and rebellion in connection with the opposition 
marches and the two-month national strike from December 2002 
to February 2003.  A Caracas court March 2 ordered that he be 
held in custody pending trial.  The CTV President had 
political asylum in Costa Rica from March 2003 until August 
2004.  When Costa Rica revoked Ortega's asylum because he 
allegedly violated its terms, he returned clandestinely to 
Venezuela.  Ortega has been an almost forgotten opposition 
figure since his exile, except perhaps among his cohorts in 
organized labor and those that remember his leadership 
negatively.  As such his capture cannot be considered a blow 
to Venezuela's opposition.  For the GoV, however, Ortega's 
capture is a coup that President Hugo Chavez and his 
supporters will exploit to rail about the illegitimacy of the 
opposition and to intimidate opponents.  End Summary. 
 
2.  (C)  Venezuelan Workers' Confederation (CTV) President 
Carlos Ortega has been a wanted man for nearly two years. 
Culminating with the national strike that paralyzed much of 
Venezuela from December 2002 to February 2003, Ortega's 
activities in opposition to President Hugo Chavez resulted in 
his being accused of rebellion, treason and conspiracy. 
Arguing that he would not receive a fair trial and that he 
feared for his life, he sought and obtained political asylum 
from Costa Rica in March 2003.  He had reportedly returned to 
Venezuela in August 2004, prior to the presidential recall 
referendum.  Although fellow labor leaders confirmed Ortega's 
return publicly, the CTV president refrained from public 
political activity. 
 
3.  (U)  Ortega's defense lawyer told reporters that 
Venezuelan authorities (CICPC) intercepted Ortega when he was 
transferring from one car to another outside a Caracas bingo 
hall March 1.  Ortega had changed his appearance, darkening 
his hair and sporting a mustache, and reportedly presented 
identity documents in the name of a different person.  Ortega 
was accompanied by a woman, according to press reports, who 
was briefly detained and released.  The authorities brought 
him before a judge March 2 at which time his relatives had 
the opportunity to see him.  The judge ordered that Ortega 
remain in custody pending trial. 
 
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CTV reaction 
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4.  (U) CTV Secretary General Manuel Cova told reporters that 
his colleague is now a political prisoner.  Cova convened a 
meeting of the CTV executive committee which ratified its 
support for Ortega and demanded that Attorney General Isaias 
Rodriguez guarantee Ortega's safety.  Noting that the GoV is 
"on the margin of the law" when it comes to labor rights, 
Cova said the CTV has notified the international labor 
community and will file another complaint with the 
International Labor Organization.  After the CICPC refused to 
allow Cova to visit, the CTV Secretary General reiterated the 
concern for Ortega's physical safety and respect for his 
rights. 
 
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GoV Reaction 
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5.  (U) National Assembly President Nicolas Maduro told 
reporters that Ortega's capture is "an end to impunity and 
consolidates stability and peace in the country."  He mocked 
Chavez's opponents, saying that it appeared that Ortega was 
"partying" at a discotheque instead of being in "the 
resistance" fighting in the hills.  Maduro said Ortega should 
bear the responsibility for the damage he caused Venezuela 
since the labor leader brought many lives and businesses to 
ruin.  Fifth Republic Movement Luis Tascon attributed 
Ortega's capture to divisions within the CTV.  Without 
providing further detail, he suggested that some CTV leaders 
leaked details about Ortega's whereabouts to bring him down. 
(A CICPC spokesman told reporters that neighbors' concerned 
about movements in an unoccupied house led the authorities to 
the place where Ortega apparently had been staying in recent 
times.) 
 
Comment 
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6.  (C) When Ortega went into exile in March 2003, he left 
the Venezuelan political stage.  The conditions under which 
Costa Rica granted him political asylum muzzled Ortega during 
the year that Chavez opponents focused all their energies on 
the presidential recall referendum.  Additionally, he and 
FEDECAMARAS President Carlos Fernandez were mostly remembered 
for "the failure" of the national strike.  Thus, although he 
is a well-known figure among opponents of President Chavez 
and still enjoyed some support and loyalty in labor circles, 
his capture is not likely to affect present opposition 
efforts significantly. 
 
7.  (C) For the GoV and Chavez supporters, however, Ortega's 
capture is a coup.  Catching him near a gambling 
establishment was quickly translated into "proof" of the 
labor leader's lack of moral standing.  The judicial 
proceedings now will provide a stage for the GoV to maintain 
public attention on the alleged sins of the opposition and to 
blame others, instead of the Chavez administration, for the 
evident shortcomings and failings of the Bolivarian 
Revolution. 
Brownfield