US embassy cable - 05CARACAS1657

C O N F I D E N T I A L  CARACAS 001657 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
NSC FOR CBARTON 
HQSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/04/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, MARR, VE 
SUBJECT: GOV POSTURES AGAINST GUERRILLAS AND ALLEGED 
SUBVERSION 
 
 
Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ABELARDO A. ARIAS FOR 1.4 (D) 
 
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Summary 
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1.  (C)  The Venezuelan Government and Armed Forces are 
scrambling to assert their authority after a Venezuelan 
soldier died in a shoot-out with Colombian guerrillas May 17. 
 The military has sent more troops to the border with 
Colombia, and the GOV has adopted a slightly firmer 
rhetorical position against the guerrillas.  Meanwhile, the 
GOV has repeatedly emphasized that the armed forces are loyal 
amidst press reports that the military is investigating 
subversion within its ranks.  After receiving criticism from 
the opposition that military pay increases were overdue, 
President Hugo Chavez ordered the Defense Ministry and 
legislature to raise soldiers' salaries.  End summary. 
 
2.  (U)  One Venezuelan soldier died and another was injured 
during a May 17 shoot-out with Colombian guerrillas in 
Tachira State near the Colombian border.  The GOV reported 
the deployment of some 700 forces to capture the perpetrators 
and to brace the region for future attacks, according to 
press reports.  On May 20, the local military command 
declared it had detained nine armed irregulars who reportedly 
belonged to the guerrilla column that had attacked the 
Venezuelan soldiers.  Venezuela has dubbed its operation on 
the border "Plan Sovereignty" and will seek to make the 
deployment permanent through a plan, published in the 
Official Gazette May 10, to staff two additional theaters of 
operations responsible for security along the entire 
Colombian border. 
 
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Who is to Blame? 
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3.  (U)  During his visit to the region on May 20, Defense 
Minister Gen. Jorge Luis Garcia Carneiro accused the ELN of 
shooting the Venezuelan soldiers.  President Hugo Chavez told 
"Alo Presidente" program listeners May 22 the identity of the 
attackers remained unknown, but he did not rule out the 
involvement of leftist guerrillas.  Tachira Governor Ronald 
Blanco La Cruz (MVR) blamed the attack on guerrillas, said 
self-proclaimed Chavistas were among those the GOV had 
detained, and asked rhetorically why the GOV found telling 
the truth about the incident difficult, according to June 2 
press reports.  In a shift from the GOV's former line that 
all Colombians were welcome in Venezuelan territory as long 
as they behaved peacefully, Garcia forbade "subversive 
groups" from using Venezuela as a refuge from Plan Colombia. 
Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel, who as recently as late 
April faulted Plan Colombia for upsetting the regional 
balance of power and for displacing civilians, blamed the 
incident on the scarcity of Colombian troops at the border. 
 
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"We're in Control of the Situation.  We Swear." 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
4.  (U)  Since late April, opposition-aligned newspapers have 
printed stories about the military trying to crack down on 
shadowy opposition movements in its ranks while military 
leaders have taken pains to assert the troops are firmly 
behind Chavez.  Defense Minister Garcia admitted military 
authorities were questioning a group of soldiers.  The Chavez 
administration also acknowledged in mid-May that "subversive 
leaflets" had been placed in Venezuelan military 
installations, but moved quickly to dispel rumors of coup 
attempts.  Chavez attributed the flyers to "imperialism and 
its internal lackeys" during a May 14 press conference.  A 
front-page article in a pro-Chavez newspaper on May 22 quoted 
Rangel as saying that no soldiers were willing to support a 
coup, although some "irresponsible crazies" were plotting. 
 
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Blink and You'll Miss It 
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5.  (C)  Chavez and elements of the opposition for the moment 
have agreed on at least two GOV policies concerning the 
military.  National Assembly Deputy Luis Berdugo (Accion 
 
 
Democratica) endorsed the creation of the position of vice 
minister of defense for intelligence proposed by the 
pro-Chavez bloc during debate on the Organic Law of the 
National Armed Forces in late May.  Berdugo said such a vice 
minister's office, if well organized and funded, could help 
in the fight against drugs and other border crimes. 
Vociferous Chavez opponent Vice Adm. (ret.) Rafael Huizi 
criticized the GOV for not giving the military the 
across-the-board salary increase it had been expecting on May 
1, Venezuela's Labor Day, according to press reports.  Three 
weeks later, Chavez said during an Alo Presidente broadcast 
that military salaries were too low.  He told the Defense 
Ministry and the National Assembly to resolve the problem, 
and said he had ordered that enlisted personnel receive at 
least the minimum wage.  Vice Adm. (ret.) Mario Ivan Carratu 
told poloff May 25 he thought Chavez had withheld the 
increase intentionally to identify pockets of dissent. 
 
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Comment 
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6.  (C)  Although Chavez assured Colombian President Alvaro 
Uribe in March he would help fight terrorists, he is not yet 
willing to tag Colombian guerrillas publicly as such. 
Domestic political considerations appear to be motivating 
Chavez in his attempt to assure the military and the border 
region he takes their security seriously.  A leaflet campaign 
does not indicate widespread discontent, yet Chavez is moving 
quickly to ensure the armed forces, the institution he 
depends on most, remains under his firm control.  The 
military remains in his grasp for now, but Chavez could lose 
his grip if he fails to provide for his troops. 
Brownfield 
 
 
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      2005CARACA01657 - CONFIDENTIAL