US embassy cable - 05CARACAS1829

C O N F I D E N T I A L  CARACAS 001829 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
NSC FOR CBARTON 
HQSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/04/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, MOPS, PHUM, VE 
SUBJECT: GOV DOGGED BY REPORTS OF MILITARY DISSENSION 
 
REF: CARACAS 01657 
 
Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ABELARDO A. ARIAS FOR 1.4 (D) 
 
1.  (C)   Summary:  The Venezuelan Armed Forces' operations 
against illegal armed groups on the Colombian border begun 
after a Venezuelan soldier died in a May 17 shoot-out with 
irregular troops have not yet abated despite some internal 
disagreements over the new policy, accusations of human 
rights violations, and opposition attempts to exaggerate 
negative reports.  Army Commander Maj. Gen. Raul Baduel has 
called the border operations "duly authorized."  Although 
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez did order the deployment, 
cracks in military unity are apparent.  Chavez stands to 
alienate some GOV officials and border residents whether the 
operation against guerrillas intensifies or fizzles out.  The 
Venezuelan opposition has also exploited rumors of other 
incidents within the armed forces, such as alleged plans to 
name Cuban leader Fidel Castro an honorary Venezuelan 
"General in Chief."  End summary. 
 
2.  (C)  Plan Sovereignty, the Venezuelan military's 
operation against illegal armed groups on the Colombian 
border, remains in force.  The operation began after 
irregular forces killed a Venezuelan soldier on May 17. 
According to early June press reports, Venezuelan troops have 
now detained 15 people in Tachira State since mid-May.  DAO 
sources say that the military has not sent more troops to 
Tachira; rather, they have merely augmented the size and 
frequency of patrols.  A face-off between Venezuelan soldiers 
and other irregular forces also occurred in Zulia State in 
early June, first infantry division commander Maj. Gen. 
Virgilio Lameda told the press.  He said no casualties 
resulted from the confrontation with the armed group, which 
had fled toward Colombia.  Lameda claimed the Venezuelan 
military had about 1,000 troops guarding the Zulia 
State-Colombia border region. 
 
3.  (U)  Indications that supporters of President Hugo Chavez 
are divided over Plan Sovereignty have begun to emerge from 
GOV sources.  Miranda state legislator and opposition NGO 
leader Oscar Perez showed the press in late May a video of 
Tachira State Governor Ronald Blanco La Cruz telling a group 
of local merchants that Brig. Gen. Oscar Carrizales had 
received threatening phone calls because of his involvement 
in the operation.  La Cruz urged any who feared to denounce 
pro-Chavez criminal elements to report directly to him.  The 
operations have also aggravated relations between Chavez's 
Fifth Republic Movement (MVR) and the pro-GOV Fatherland for 
All (PPT) parties after a rumor emerged that the military was 
rounding up PPT members.  The PPT secretary general in 
Tachira told a reporter that the rumor was false, but he 
accused the army of detaining members of GOV social missions 
rather than irregular forces.  He further claimed there was 
"a campaign against the PPT," which may have been a reference 
to the case against PPT Governor of Guarico State Eduardo 
Manuitt, whom the National Assembly is investigating for 
corruption and human rights violations. 
 
------------ 
Human Rights 
------------ 
 
4.  (C)  Residents of two rural Tachira mountain towns went 
to the GOV human rights ombudsman's office in early June to 
protest that soldiers had beaten and threatened to kill them, 
according to press reports.  One local, a self-proclaimed 
Chavista who worked for Chavez's literacy Mission Robinson, 
added that they had thrown a woman in jail along with her 
newborn baby.  A local PPT deputy said he would ask the 
legislature to open an investigation, according to June 9 
press reports.  Without denying the mistreatment of 
civilians, Maj. Gen. Baduel announced the following day that 
the public could rest assured that the army did not intend to 
protect any human rights violators.  Asked if the May-June 
operation had increased reports of violations, a Venezuelan 
human rights leader related to poloff a March case of the 
army torturing and killing a local peasant while searching 
for guerrillas.  Not commenting specifically on the recent 
events, he said that human rights and peasants organizations 
in the region had been reporting much abuse by the army this 
year.  Having conducted interviews throughout the border 
region in 2003, he concluded that the border population did 
 
not trust Venezuelan authorities and considered the 
guerrillas the lesser of two evils. 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
Opposition Spotlights Divisions, Spins Rumors 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
5.  (U)  The opposition and its sympathetic media outlets 
have tried to portray the operation as a cause of major GOV 
infighting.  Oscar Perez, following up on internet rumors of 
disputes both between the service branches and between 
different commands, said that the Defense Ministry ordered 
Brig. Gen. Carrizales to release detained Colombian 
irregulars and to withdraw his troops, according to press. 
Army commander Maj. Gen. Raul Baduel stepped in to squelch 
rumors in early June that Carrizales and Maj. Gen. William 
Warrick Blanco were going to be dismissed for having directed 
the operation.  Baduel assured reporters the operation was 
"duly planned and authorized." 
 
6.  (U)  Rumors circulated by the political opposition 
concerning other military incidents have kept the GOV on the 
defensive.  In late May, "subversive leaflets" placed in 
military installations claimed that Castro was going to be 
named honorary "General in Chief" of the Venezuelan Armed 
Forces.  Baduel denied the reports June 3 but confirmed that 
a graduating class for mid-level officers had chosen Castro 
as its "godfather."  After an alleged incident surrounding 
the replacement of a National Guard regional command with 
army troops (SEPTEL), GOV spokespersons refuted rumors of 
insubordination spread by opposition sources but announced 
that the Carabobo Day military parade scheduled for 24 June 
would be canceled because of a purported assassination plot 
hatched by "foreign" interests (read: Washington) and retired 
military officers.  In response, opposition spokespersons 
condemned the Government for inventing threats against Chavez 
instead of explaining the military's internal problems. 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
7.  (C)  Colombian and Venezuelan irregulars could be rounded 
up by the hundreds if the military truly had the will and 
ability to take them on; indeed, even local civilians know 
where to find them.  Instead, Chavez has ordered an operation 
that is mostly for show to try to convince the public and the 
military he is serious about their security.  A more 
aggressive policy would be politically risky for Chavez.  If 
he were to expand military operations, he would upset both 
corrupt GOV officials who benefit from trade with guerrillas 
and ideological officials who sympathize with them. 
Conversely, if he were to back down completely, he would 
marginalize both voters who suffer from the criminal behavior 
of illegal armed groups and some of their local Chavista 
leaders. 
 
8.  (C)  Chavez does appear concerned about the threat of 
divisions within his armed forces.  His decision to call off 
the June 24 parade may stem partially from concerns that 
elements within his own forces may be plotting against him, 
as some opposition figures have alleged.  Recent 
confrontations reported between army and national guard units 
in Bolivar State and corruption in the DISIP security service 
(SEPTELS) reinforce the perception of divisions in the armed 
and security services.  We do not yet see much fire beneath 
this smoke.  But the longer it remains, and with a little 
careful fanning, a flame may still emerge. 
Brownfield 
 
 
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      2005CARACA01829 - CONFIDENTIAL