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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 CARACAS 000191 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/PDA LEBENS, WHA/AND CUE/MCISAAC 
 
POSTS FOR PAO 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO PHUM OPRC VE
SUBJECT: VENEZUELAN ATTORNEY GENERAL SEEKS TO SILENCE PRESS 
ATTACKS ON HIS KEY WITNESS IN ANDERSON CASE; THE COURTS 
AGREE 
 
------- 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1.  On January 18 Venezuelan Attorney General Isaias 
Rodriguez responded to press reports that severely 
undermined the credibility of his key witness in the case of 
assassinated prosecutor Danilo Anderson by asking a judge to 
prohibit writings or acts that would call the witness and 
case into doubt.  He did not accuse the journalists of 
having unauthorized access to privileged government 
information, but rather attacked them on the grounds that 
their investigative journalism included false information 
and undermined the prosecutor's case.  In an increasingly 
commonplace Bolivarian orwellianism, Rodriguez argued that 
he was protecting freedom of expression by inhibiting 
freedom of expression.  His statement was quickly condemned 
by Venezuelan media organizations, followed by international 
press organizations.  Subsequently, a judge issued a 
restraining order prohibiting all media comment on the 
witness, leading major media outlets here, led by the all- 
news TV channel GLOBOVISION, to again blast what the media 
here is calling prior censorship.  GLOBOVISION apparently 
intends to continue to report on Vasquez de Armas despite 
the court order.  End summary. 
 
---------------------------- 
THE WITNESS WHO WASN'T THERE 
---------------------------- 
 
¶2. AG Rodriguez and his prosecutors have publicly based 
their theory regarding the masterminds of the high-profile 
murder of prosecutor Danilo Anderson on the testimony of key 
witness Giovanni Jose Vasquez De Armas, a shadowy Colombian. 
Danilo Anderson was a federal prosecutor killed in a 
November 2004 car bombing.  Three ex-policemen were 
convicted in December 2005 for the actual bombing but the 
prosecutor has been pursuing the so-called "intellectual 
authors" who he alleges were responsible for ordering the 
killing.  In his testimony, Vasquez de Armas spun a web 
regarding a series of conspiratorial meetings to plan 
Anderson's demise, which according to Vasquez de Armas, 
included a who's who of the opposition.  The conspirators 
also discussed bumping off other high-ranking Bolivarian 
Republic of Venezuela (BRV) figures.  Investigative 
journalists in Venezuela media swung into action, reporting 
inter alia that Vasquez de Armas' claim of being a 
psychologist was false, showing he had Venezuelan identity 
papers, that he had voted in several past elections here, 
and revealing his criminal record as a swindler and 
fabricator.  The most telling information discrediting 
Vasquez de Armas quotes Colombian authorities establishing 
that he was actually incarcerated in Colombian jail the day 
he claimed to have been at a dramatic meeting with 
conspirators to plan the assassinations, including Anderson. 
 
------------------ 
KILL THE MESSENGER 
------------------ 
 
¶3. Rodriguez responded to these press attacks by accusing 
the media of orchestrating a campaign to derail his 
prosecution in order to protect the masterminds of 
Anderson's murder.  He asked judicial authorities to gag the 
press on the Anderson case, citing Article 110 of the 
 
CARACAS 00000191  002 OF 003 
 
 
Organic Law on Judicial Power, which states that anyone 
impeding or obstructing an action of the judiciary or public 
ministry through fraud, violence or intimidation can be 
sentenced from 6 months to three years in prison.  He also 
cited the Social Responsibility Law for Radio and 
Television, article 1, which calls on broadcasters to 
express social responsibility in fomenting a "democratic 
equilibrium between duties, rights and interests" and 
article 3 that promises freedom of expression within the 
limits of responsibility that it entails.  He noted a court 
decision that gave the courts the right to prohibit the 
publication of certain information, and which also argued 
that Venezuelan law superseded international law. 
 
¶4.  In a move which clearly demonstrated the lack of 
independence of the Venezuelan judiciary from the executive, 
a Venezuelan court quickly acceded to Rodriguez' request. 
On January 23 Judge Florencio Silano prohibited all press 
commentary on the Anderson case, in particular commentary on 
the `private life' of key witness Giovanni Jose Vasquez de 
Armas.  Judge Silano established that "freedom of expression 
cannot be permitted for the uncontrolled disclosure of 
embarrassing statements about a person ... much less 
disseminating ideas, unproved facts, apparent legal 
documents, recordings ... that constitute a defense for 
terrorism."  Separately, the head of CONATEL, the Venezuelan 
FCC, announced that administrative proceedings had begun 
against various broadcasters based on requests by the 
Attorney General.  CONATEL is well known in media circles 
for levying heavy fines against broadcasters affiliated with 
the opposition on the flimsiest of pretexts. 
 
¶5.  The director of GLOBOVISION, Alberto Federico Ravell, 
publicly accepted receipt of the CONATEL notice, to the 
point of filming it live and repeatedly broadcasting the 
tape of that interaction throughout the day.  Speaking to 
the cameras with the baffled COINATEL functionary by his 
side, Ravell called the notice "a historic act of prior 
censorship by the courts."  Miguel Otero, the publisher of 
Caracas daily El Nacional, defiantly stated in an interview 
that his paper would continue to publish material on the 
case.  Marcel Granier the head of national TV chain RCTV 
complained on the air, "that the prosecutor's office intends 
to protect the honor and dignity of the key witness, but not 
that of all the Venezuelans that suffer injustice here."  He 
added that it was another sign of the decomposition of the 
Venezuelan state. 
 
¶6.  In a conversation with the A/PAO, an executive with 
GLOBOVISION said that they had consulted with their 
attorneys and believe they can continue to report on the 
Anderson case and Vasquez de Armas' role in it.  They 
interpret the order as only prohibiting revealing official 
court documents.  He claimed that GLOBOVISION is not seeking 
a confrontation with the judiciary, but will run a program 
on January 26 entitled "Giovanni Vasquez de Armas Speaks." 
Separately, the publisher of a leading Caracas daily told a 
PD officer that he doubted that GLOBOVISION strategy would 
pass muster with the courts.  The publisher was pinning his 
hopes on an appeal to the courts that he felt had a good 
chance of success.  In the meantime, his paper would 
meticulously follow the court order and publish nothing on 
the case.  He noted the "stupid ambiguities" in the order 
made this the safest course.  He added that the Attorney 
General would be introducing legislation in the National 
 
CARACAS 00000191  003 OF 003 
 
 
Assembly this year to further tighten controls on the press. 
 
------------ 
THE REACTION 
------------ 
 
¶7. The Bloque de Prensa Venezolano (The Venezuelan Press 
Bloc), an organization representing the private Venezuelan 
media, released a statement on January 19 condemning the 
Attorney General's legal actions against the media, saying 
that it is rejected by the democratic conscience of the 
majority of Venezuelans. Their condemnation was echoed by 
the National Journalist Guild and the National Union of 
Press Workers. 
 
¶8. On January 20 the Inter American Press Association 
condemned the Venezuelan Government's threats.  The Chairman 
of the Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information, 
Gonzalo Marroquin, said, "we regret that behind the facade 
of obstruction of justice they are trying to limit the 
media's ability to inform citizens on issues of general 
public interest."  On January 24 it also condemned the 
judge's decision, calling it a clear case of prior 
censorship.  Reporters without Borders added its own 
condemnation of "state censorship" on January 24. 
 
¶9.  The government responded to the condemnations by having 
various government figures, including the head of the 
National Assembly, the Justice Minister, and the Information 
Minister, publicly defend the Attorney General.  As usual, 
the government spokesmen accused the press of launching a 
`media war' aimed at bringing down the government, and in 
this case, justifying terrorism. 
 
------- 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶10.  The press was quick to punch holes in the publicly 
revealed Vasquez de Armas statement, which included everyone 
from Catholic Church cardinals to the FBI in the Anderson 
conspiracy.  Rodriguez, in a typically thin-skinned BRV 
reaction, is going after the press using the ambiguously 
worded new penal and media laws.  The quick decision by the 
judiciary in favor of the government is a bad omen for press 
freedom.  If post contacts are correct, additional anti- 
press legislation this year could remove any wiggle room 
that the press has had with the courts. 
 
BROWNFIELD