US embassy cable - 05CARACAS766

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CARACAS 000766 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NSC FOR CBARTON 
USCINCSO ALSO FOR POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/25/2014 
TAGS: PHUM, PGOV, VE 
SUBJECT: HARASSMENT OF VENEZUELAN HUMAN RIGHTS NGO 
 
 
Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ABELARDO A. ARIAS FOR REASONS 1.4 (d 
) 
 
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Summary 
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1.  (C)  The GOV has taken several steps recently which have 
intimidated the human rights NGO Committee for the Families 
of the Victims of February 1989 (COFAVIC), according to the 
NGO's director, Liliana Ortega (please protect).  The 
harassment, she told poloff, has included: a public letter 
from a prosecutor accusing Ortega of lying, stealing money 
from the victims, and failing to cooperate with the 
investigation of the February 1989 riots; attempts by a 
reporter from the government press agency to link the 
organization publicly to USG funding; and the unilateral 
withdrawal of Ortega's police escort, in defiance of the 
Inter-American Court of Human Rights.  Ortega also reported 
an attempt on her life on October 25, 2004, featuring a man 
with alleged links to pro-Chavez mayor Freddy Bernal from 
Caracas' Libertador borough.  End Summary. 
 
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Silent NGOs are the Best NGOs 
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2.  (C)  The GOV is engaged in a campaign to intimidate the 
human rights NGO Committee for the Families of the Victims of 
February 1989 (COFAVIC), the group's director told poloff 
March 10.  Liliana Ortega said the campaign was 
unprecedented, and she was scared about where it could lead, 
from a physical attack to criminal charges.  She noted that 
every time a human rights group or leader made public 
comments critical of the GOV, they were harassed and 
intimidated by the GOV. 
 
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Prosecutor Lashes Out 
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3.  (C)  On March 1 the prosecutor investigating the February 
1989 "Caracazo", Alis Farinas, released a statement calling 
Ortega's comments during an anniversary press conference, 
"false and tendentious."  The prosecutor accused COFAVIC of 
not cooperating in the investigation, of false representation 
of the victims, and of possibly defrauding the victims of the 
compensation.  Ortega described Farinas as a fervent 
Chavista, adding that it was unlikely that she made the 
statement without the Attorney General's authorization. 
 
4.  (C)  COFAVIC countered with a press statement March 2 
calling Farinas' statement "one of the most serious acts of 
intimidation and harassment that human rights groups have 
ever suffered in Venezuela.  Ortega told poloff COFAVIC's 
actions over the years have been reviewed by the 
Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and showed poloff 
letters of thanks from Farinas to COFAVIC for the group's 
cooperation. Ortega said she was worried the prosecutor's 
statement was designed to establish the basis for criminal 
charges against her for obstructing justice, false 
representation or fraud. 
 
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GOV Press Looks for US Hand 
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5. (C)  Ortega noted that following the February 27 press 
conference, the reporter from the GOV's Bolivarian News 
Agency (ABN), insistently asked if COFAVIC received financing 
from the USG, and if the staff was paid in dollars. (Note: 
The operational funding of COFAVIC is provided by the Jesuit 
Alboa Foundation, 65%, and the EU 35%. USAID has financed 
specific projects, such as an upcoming study on police death 
squads.  Ortega and five other employees are paid their 
salaries in Euros, as part of the EU financing.)  Ortega says 
she gave a qualified answer, pointing out that the group 
received no money from the USG to track cases. 
 
7.  (C)  The ABN article, picked up by the radical Chavista 
Aporrea web-site, includes such affirmations as, "In fact, 
all the workers of COFAVIC are paid in dollars, information 
indirectly confirmed by Ortega," and, after quoting Ortega, 
"That is to say, according to the executive director of 
COFAVIC, it is constitutional for workers to receive their 
salary in foreign currency." Colina goes on to claim that 
Hilda Paez, President of COFAVIC, and the mother of one of 
the victims, "didn't rule out the possibility that the 
organization received financing from the U.S. government, 
even though Ortega emphatically denied it when asked." Ortega 
told poloff that the article reads more like an editorial, 
and that the obvious attempt to link COFAVIC to the USG makes 
her nervous. She was particularly upset that Aporrea carried 
the story, stating that it could lead to violence against her 
or COFAVIC. 
 
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Police Escort Withdrawn 
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7.  (C)  On March 4, while Ortega was in Washington 
addressing the Inter-American Human Rights Commission 
(IAHRC), the Caracas Metropolitan Police informed COFAVIC 
that the protection it had previously provided under 
Inter-American Court of Human Rights orders would cease. 
After a series of calls and conversations among IAHRC 
Commissioner Paulo Sergio Pinherio, Venezuelan Ambassador to 
the OAS Jorge Valero, and MFA officials, Ambassador Valero 
called Ortega to tell her that Vice President Jose Vicente 
Rangel had decided to return the police protection.  Ortega 
said Valero's deputy, Iliana Medina, verbally abused her in a 
meeting with Valero and Pinherio, asking "do you really need 
protection?", and telling Ortega that she was indignant that 
she would request international protection from the GOV.  On 
March 5 the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ratified the 
protective order, in what Ortega described as a strongly 
worded statement, recalling the failure of the GOV to 
implement previous orders in a timely fashion, and revealing 
that the GOV had requested the suspension of the measures 
February 14. By March 10, police protection for Ortega had 
not resumed. 
 
8.  (C)  Explaining why she continues to fear for her safety, 
Ortega told poloff that on October 25, 2004, a motorbike had 
attempted to run her over in a garage while she was picking 
up her car. The assailant fled when he saw the police 
officers escorting Ortega. The NGO director said an employee 
of the garage identified the assailant as an employee of the 
municipal government of the Libertador borough of Caracas, 
governed by Freddy Bernal. The Court cited this case in 
reaffirming its protective order, she said. 
 
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Barbarity 
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9.  (C)  Carlos Correa, coordinator of the human rights NGO 
PROVEA, told poloffs March 11 that the Farinas' statement was 
a "barbarity." Correa was reluctant to comment on the 
confrontation, but said he believed the GOV was moving 
towards a criminalization of USG financing of Venezuelan 
NGOs.  Correa also stated that there were indications that 
the GOV would maintain and intensify its campaign against 
COFAVIC and Liliana Ortega. He said if this happened, PROVEA 
and other allied human rights NGOs would defend COFAVIC. 
 
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Comment 
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11.  (C)  The threat of physical harm against Ortega (the 
face of COFAVIC), or a judicial offensive is significant, and 
would have a chilling effect on Venezuelan civil society and 
human rights defenders. The fact that COFAVIC receives 
significant funding from European sources, and the high 
esteem in which the group is held in the IAHRC and the Court, 
mean that any moves against the group are likely to focus 
international attention on the situation of NGOs in 
Venezuela. 
Brownfield