Chavez Arresting Political Opponents

[Toro]

Hugh Chav is doing his best to eliminate any opposition that might oppose him.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez moved to jail a prominent opposition figure for the second time in recent weeks, an apparent bid to tighten his grip on power amid a sharp downturn in economic growth.

Raúl Baduel, a former defense minister-turned-Chávez-critic, was arrested on corruption charges Thursday, according to Mr. Baduel's lawyer, Omar Mora Tosta, and government officials. Mr. Mora Tosta says the charges are unfounded.

The arrest comes after the Venezuelan attorney general on March 19 sought a court order to arrest Manuel Rosales, a former state governor who ran against Mr. Chávez in the 2006 presidential elections, on corruption charges. The arrest warrant hasn't yet been issued. Representatives for Mr. Rosales said he has gone into hiding, and that the allegations against him are unfounded.

Government officials say the actions against Messrs. Baduel and Rosales are the result of legitimate investigations into their financial dealings when they held public office.

Some observers, however, say the moves illustrate how Mr. Chávez is using government institutions to punish political opponents. "All available information suggests that this is selective prosecution motivated by political reasons," says José Miguel Vivanco, executive director of Human Rights Watch's Americas program. Mr. Vivanco says he was expelled from Venezuela at gunpoint last year after releasing a report critical of Mr. Chávez. ...

Mr. Chávez appears to be striking at chief opponents before they can use the worsening economy against him, observers said.

A former general, Mr. Baduel was close friend of Mr. Chávez's and played a key role in restoring Mr. Chávez to power after a brief coup in 2002.

Mr. Baduel emerged as a national opposition figure in 2007, when he helped turn public opinion against a referendum to give Mr. Chávez the right to unlimited re-election. He is widely seen as having pressured Mr. Chávez to concede defeat in that referendum. (Mr. Chávez won the right to re-election in a national vote this year.)

Venezuelan Government Arrests Chávez Opponent - WSJ.com

 

[Yurt]

obama ordered dick cheney arrested today...

why is that not news and your OP is?

 

[eots]

obama ordered dick cheney arrested today...

why is that not news and your OP is?

huh ??...do you have a link for this bombshell ?

 

[cbi0090]

How predictable...yawn.

 

[Agnapostate]

Along with Felipe Acosta Carles and Jesus Urdaneta Hernandez, Baduel was one of the original launchers of Chavez's military conspiracy in 1982, and therefore a founder of the Bolivarian Revolutionary Army-200. (EBR-200 in Spanish.) He is thus in broad support of the same tenets of Bolivarian socialism as Chavez, and it's not entirely accurate to identify him as a "political opponent." Along with such individuals as Francisco Arias Cardenas (now re-united with Chavez), and Herma Marksman, it would be more accurate to describe him as an individual with a personal feud with Chavez, not a political one. Regardless, it's not apparent how Chavez stands to gain from "eliminating" him, since his abolition of term limits has already been passed by a referendum.

As for Rosales, any corruption on his part would be hardly surprising, as he signed Pedro Carmona's decree that abolished critical democratic bodies in Venezuela during the coup. It's rather telling that the Wall Street Journal would mention Baduel's role in the coup, but not Rosales's, of course.

Altogether, this is rather one-sided, and doesn't bother to investigate the possible legitimacy of corruption charges against these men.

 

[xsited1]

obama ordered dick cheney arrested today...

why is that not news and your OP is?

Family doesn't arrest family!

 

[Agnapostate]

Yes, but ultimately we're all biologically related, albeit extremely distantly.

 

[Toro]

Along with Felipe Acosta Carles and Jesus Urdaneta Hernandez, Baduel was one of the original launchers of Chavez's military conspiracy in 1982, and therefore a founder of the Bolivarian Revolutionary Army-200. (EBR-200 in Spanish.) He is thus in broad support of the same tenets of Bolivarian socialism as Chavez, and it's not entirely accurate to identify him as a "political opponent." Along with such individuals as Francisco Arias Cardenas (now re-united with Chavez), and Herma Marksman, it would be more accurate to describe him as an individual with a personal feud with Chavez, not a political one. Regardless, it's not apparent how Chavez stands to gain from "eliminating" him, since his abolition of term limits has already been passed by a referendum.

As for Rosales, any corruption on his part would be hardly surprising, as he signed Pedro Carmona's decree that abolished critical democratic bodies in Venezuela during the coup. It's rather telling that the Wall Street Journal would mention Baduel's role in the coup, but not Rosales's, of course.

Altogether, this is rather one-sided, and doesn't bother to investigate the possible legitimacy of corruption charges against these men.

Well, the arrests might be a little less cynical if corruption wasn't rampant in the Chavez government.

"Corruption, Mismanagement, and Abuse of Power in Hugo Chávez's Venezuela" by Gustavo Coronel (Cato Institute: Development Policy Analysis)

Simple fact is that the allies of Chavez who are corrupt remain untouched because they support Chavez whereas those who are not allies are arrested. The game is as old as the day is long.

 

[GHook93]

Typical acts of a tyrant! March out a vote for unlimited termship even if it gets voted down, run it out against until it passes. Then eliminate and legit candidates! He should just do what ASSSSad does, only put his name on the ballot!

 

[Agnapostate]

Well, the arrests might be a little less cynical if corruption wasn't rampant in the Chavez government.

"Corruption, Mismanagement, and Abuse of Power in Hugo Chávez's Venezuela" by Gustavo Coronel (Cato Institute: Development Policy Analysis)

Simple fact is that the allies of Chavez who are corrupt remain untouched because they support Chavez whereas those who are not allies are arrested. The game is as old as the day is long.

I see the Stato Institute hasn't abandoned its typical propensity for inaccuracy. Bit of a shame that this one doesn't instill any of that cynicism though.

Gustavo Coronel was a member of the Board of Directors of Petróleos de Venezuela (1976–79) and, as president of Agrupación Pro
Calidad de Vida, was the Venezuelan representative to Transparency International (1996–2000).

I'm somewhat busy at the moment, but my immediate impression is that this document first seeks to be uniquely critical of Chavez while glossing over the monstrously corrupt record of Jaime Lusinchi, for instance. Little evidence is presented that the actual degree of corruption in Venezuela has increased relative to that of prior administrations; instead, raw and absolute comparisons are made without consideration of the increase in oil wealth brought about by nationalization. Then, of course, there are lines that are blatantly inaccurate, such as this one.

Wealth redistribution has been a constant of the Chávez presidency, as has a total neglect of the creation of new wealth.

So I'll have to look at this paper in greater detail.

 

[Toro]

I see the Stato Institute hasn't abandoned its typical propensity for inaccuracy. Bit of a shame that this one doesn't instill any of that cynicism though.

This coming from a guy who has no problem linking far left sites.

 

[Agnapostate]

This coming from a guy who has no problem linking far left sites.

I've not linked any "far left sites" that are statist in nature, which would seem to be the critical point.