US embassy cable - 05CARACAS2206

C O N F I D E N T I A L  CARACAS 002206 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
NSC FOR CBARTON 
USCINCSO ALSO FOR POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/25/2014 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, PREL, VE 
SUBJECT: CARDINAL'S COMMENTS DRAW CHAVEZ'S IRE 
 
Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ABELARDO A. ARIAS FOR 
REASONS 1.4 (d) 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1. (C) Retired Cardinal Rosalio Castillo Lara called the GOV 
a dictatorship and elections a farce in an interview 
published July 17, prompting President Hugo Chavez to call 
the prelate a bandit, coupster, devil, and a hypocrite on his 
Alo Presidente broadcast later that same day.  Church and 
opposition leaders spoke out in support of Castillo Lara and 
condemned Chavez's attack on the Cardinal.  Earlier in 
mid-July, Venezuela's Catholic leadership reasserted the 
Church's right to speak out on societal issues and strongly 
criticized the GOV's human rights record at the 84th assembly 
of the Venezuelan Episcopal Conference (CEV).  The GOV 
dismissed both the CEV and its criticisms as being out of 
touch with reality. End Summary. 
 
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Cardinal Makes A Statement 
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2. (U) Cardinal Rosalio Castillo Lara, in a full-page 
interview July 17 in Caracas daily El Universal, said 
Venezuela was neither a democracy nor a state of law. 
Responding to President Hugo Chavez's claim that the 
Bolivarian Republic was "closer to the way of Christ" than 
any previous Venezuelan government, Castillo Lara declared 
that, "To the contrary, I believe this government is the most 
terrible government Venezuela has had since it came into 
existence as a republic."  Castillo Lara posited that 
Venezuelans are living under a "dictatorship" and that they 
should act "according to article 350 of the constitution" and 
"reject this government."  When questioned as to whether he 
viewed elections as an effective means of change, Castillo 
Lara responded that the Venezuelan electoral council (CNE) 
was not trustworthy and that therefore elections could only 
be "an organized farce of the state." 
 
3. (U) In the interview, Castillo Lara clarified that, as a 
retired cardinal, he could not speak on behalf of the 
Catholic Church.  However, he claimed that the rest of the 
Church leadership shared his perspective on President 
Chavez's attempts to eliminate opposition elements and 
concentrate power.  He also stated that President Chavez's 
attempts to divide the Catholic leadership against itself by 
granting favors to some and not to others had failed, and 
that the Church stood united. 
 
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Chavez Takes The Bait 
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4. (U) President Chavez responded to Castillo Lara's remarks 
during his Alo Presidente broadcast July 17.  He directed his 
response at newly arrived papal nuncio, Giacinto Berloco, and 
held Castillo Lara out as an example of why the GOV could not 
have good relations with the Church leadership.  "It's not my 
fault.", Chavez said, "Look at the history of what has 
occurred, and this is just one more example...it's an attack 
against the people by those who come representing god but 
have the devil inside."  During his remarks, Chavez referred 
to Castillo Lara as the "bandit cardinal" and described him 
at various points in his monologue as being a devil, immoral, 
hypocrite and a go-between for the bandits of the governments 
of AD and COPEI.  He also accused both Castillo Lara and the 
Catholic Church leadership of being "coupsters."  Towards the 
end of the program, President Chavez touched again on 
Castillo Lara's remarks, and declared that if Christ was 
alive today, he would "grab a whip and find that bandit and 
would whip him across the face for betraying the Catholic 
faith." 
 
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Church, Opposition Condemn Chavez's 'Impropriety' 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
5. (U) Castillo Lara responded to Chavez's personal attack 
against him on a television broadcast July 17, stating that 
"(Chavez's remarks) offend me as an honorable person", 
however "those types of insults do not constitute a response 
(to my criticisms)."  The following day, Archbishop of Coro 
Robert Luckert and Venezuelan Episcopal Conference (CEV) 
Secretary General Bishop Jose Luis Azuaje publicly supported 
 
SIPDIS 
Castillo Lara and condemned President Chavez's attack against 
him.  Luckert said Chavez had no right to call Castillo Lara 
a coupster, seeing as how he was one himself, and that 
Chavez's insults were "lacking in education, culture and 
tact."  Azuaje affirmed Castillo Lara's right to express his 
views as a Venezuelan citizen and condemned both President 
Chavez as well as the government officials who "...applauded 
those insults, because that is not a good example for the 
Venezuelan people." 
 
6. (U) Chavez opponents such as Eduardo Fernandez, President 
of COPEI, denounced "the inconsiderate and disrespectful 
language" with which the President referred to Castillo Lara 
and claimed that "The vast majority of Venezuelans are 
offended by this attack."  Fernandez urged Chavez to "act 
like a President and not like a thug from the barrio always 
picking fights."  Victor Bolivar, Vice-President of Accion 
Democratica, rejected the "rude and intolerant" manner in 
which President Chavez had defamed the Cardinal. 
 
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Other GOV Leaders Silent On Cardinal 
------------------------------------ 
 
7. (U) GOV leadership remained largely silent regarding 
President Chavez's attack on the Cardinal.  Two deputies 
participated in a National Assembly debate over whether to 
form a special commission to investigate how President Chavez 
had violated the law with his statements.  In opposing the 
motion, MVR deputy Iris Varela added to President Chavez's 
insults, calling Castillo Lara a "hired assassin" for the 
"coupster Catholic oligarchy." The Assembly rejected the 
motion. 
 
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Bishops Speak Out At Bi-Annual Conference 
----------------------------------------- 
 
8. (U) Prior to the rift over the Cardinal's comments, 
Venezuelan Episcopal Conference (CEV) President Baltazar 
Porras opened the group's 84th session with remarks in which 
he denounced the GOV's efforts to silence the Church, and 
reasserted the Church's right to "...be heard and taken into 
account, without reprisals."  The bishops ratified these 
sentiments in a communiqu issued at the conference's close. 
The bishops reiterated Porras' stance that the "fight for 
freedom, justice, solidarity, reconciliation and peace is the 
irrenounceable duty of the Church", and warned that judicial 
partisanship could result in a situation of "legalized 
injustice."  (The Cardinal, in his interview, asserted that 
Venezuela is already at the point of "legalized injustice.") 
Among other criticisms, the bishops' statement denounced 
security force abuses, the high crime rate, the prison 
crisis, and the existence of political prisoners.  Regarding 
this last point, the bishops called on President Chavez to 
ratify the petition presented by the CEV at the beginning of 
the year and pardon those accused and detained for political 
reasons. 
 
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GOV Dismisses Bishops As 'Out of Touch' 
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9. (U) President Chavez dismissed the CEV's statement as 
proof that the Catholic leadership was "disconnected from 
reality" in statements to the press July 13.  Adopting a 
semi-pious tone, he stated that he was "really sorry for (the 
bishops)" and hoped that god would pardon them because "they 
are only human and make mistakes."  He portrayed the GOV as 
the victim of Church aggression, stating that the "Catholic 
hierarchy never tires of attacking (us)", and claimed that 
"there has never been a government in Venezuela closer to the 
way of Christ than the Bolivarian Republic."  Vice-President 
Jose Vincente Rangel echoed President Chavez in statements 
made July 14, declaring that he too could not understand how 
there could be an anti-chavista Church, and claiming that "it 
is the Church that is picking fights with the government." 
 
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Comment 
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10. (C) After months of silence, the Venezuelan Catholic 
Church has once again proven its willingness to speak out 
against GOV abuses.  The Church leadership's public defense 
of Cardinal Castillo Lara's statements to the press is a 
potent indication of the Church's renewed willingness to 
oppose the GOV publicly and directly.  This approach, if it 
continues, could better position the Church as one of the 
country's few remaining real counter-balances to the GOV's 
growing centralization of power.  Although it is an approach 
which does not appear to coincide with the Vatican's recent 
decision to pursue a path of openness and dialogue with the 
GOV, it is one that is resounding among some Chavez opponents 
who conclude that given Castillo Lara's long Vatican history 
and reputed closeness to the new Pope, he can only be acting 
with the Holy See's blessing. 
Brownfield 
 
 
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      2005CARACA02206 - CONFIDENTIAL