Venezuela authorities investigate Colombia paramilitary claims of plot to destabilize government

Daniela Pulido | Facultad de Derecho PUCP, PE
JULY 7, 2024 11:25:32 AM

Venezuela’s 8rd National Prosecutor ordered the investigation of claims by Colombian paramilitaries that they were approached to destabilize the government of President Nicolás Maduro, Attorney General Tarek William Saab announced Friday. According to Maduro, the alleged plan was aimed at creating the impression of a “civil war” in Venezuela on July 28, the day of the country’s presidential election, in which Maduro is a candidate.

Authorities opened the investigation after the Colombian paramilitary Autodefensas Conquistadores de la Sierra Nevada (ACSN) released a video on X (formerly Twitter) claiming that Venezuelan far-right groups had contacted its units in the department of La Guajira to destabilize the Venezuelan government. The group claimed that these groups made various requests, including attacking electrical infrastructure, acting against presidential candidate Nicolás Maduro, and, in the event of his re-election, infiltrating protests and creating chaos in the streets. They said that their organization does not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries and indicated that they would contact the Venezuelan diplomatic authorities to disclose further details.

The prosecutor said that the investigation would focus on the possible commission of a punishable act of public action, as provided for in the Organic Law against Organized Crime and the Financing of Terrorism and the Venezuelan Penal Code. He instructed the General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence to carry out the corresponding investigative procedures, all under the supervision of the Public Prosecutor’s Office.

Maduro has previously leveled similar accusations against the opposition. Notably, during his weekly television broadcast “Con Maduro +” on June 25, President Maduro claimed to have uncovered a conspiracy among extreme right-wing factions. According to Maduro, these groups were allegedly plotting an attack on Venezuela’s power infrastructure to disrupt the electoral process.

https://www.jurist.org/news/2024/07/venezuela-authorities-investigate-colombia-paramilitary-claims-of-plot-to-destabilize-government/

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This article is more than 20 years old
Colombian paramilitaries arrested in Venezuela
This article is more than 20 years old

Jeremy Lennard and agencies
Mon 10 May 2004 07.20 EDT

Venezuelan police have arrested more than 70 Colombian paramilitary fighters who were allegedly plotting to strike against the government in Caracas, according to the country's president, Hugo Chávez.

Opposition leaders, however, were quick to dismiss the president's claim, calling the raids on a farm less than 10 miles from the capital a ruse to divert attention from their efforts to oust Mr Chávez in a recall vote.

During his weekly radio and TV broadcast, Hello Mr President, Mr Chávez said that 53 paramilitary fighters were arrested at the farm early on Sunday and another 24 were picked up after fleeing into the countryside.

The country's security forces were uncovering additional clues and searching for more suspects, he said, adding that the arrests were proof of a conspiracy against his government involving Cuban and Venezuelan exiles in Florida and neighbouring Colombia. Mr Chávez also claimed the plot was backed by Venezuela's mostly pro-opposition news media and said that the raids had "eliminated the seed of a terrorist group".

"Now they are importing terrorists," Mr Chávez said of his opponents, adding that the farm - in the municipality of El Hatillo - was owned by Roberto Alonso, a Cuban exile with links to Venezuelan and Cuban exiles. "There are people in
the United States who keep thinking how to start a war in Venezuela so that they can justify an invasion," he said.

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/may/10/venezuela.jeremylennard

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Wikipedia on the Colombian Paras and former soldiers caught in Venezuela in 2004 on properties owned by prominent
right-wing Venezuelans, one a Cuban exile, Robert Alonzo (sister Miriam Alonzo, grade B Hollywood actress) who currently lives in Miami, of course, and Gustavo Cisneros, powerful media owner and industrialist who was close friends of George H. W. Bush:


Daktari Ranch affair

The Daktari Ranch affair was a hypothesized plot to overthrow Hugo Chávez, who was the President of Venezuela. According to Chávez and his supporters, the capture of several dozen individuals in May 2004 and other developments prove the existence of the purported coup plot, while the anti-Chávez opposition discounts the notion that any deeper meaning can be imputed to the raid and capture of the Colombian detainees or to other events.

Raids
On 9 May 2004, Venezuelan police raided a ranch in Baruta, a municipality on the outskirts of the Venezuelan capital of Caracas. A total of fifty-five Colombian men were arrested. The raided ranch was owned by Roberto Alonso, a Cuban exile active in the anti-Castro movement and a leader of the Venezuelan opposition group Bloque Democrático. Shortly thereafter, they arrested 71 more men at a neighboring ranch that was owned by Gustavo Cisneros. On the night of 2 August 2004, members of the National Guard and the Disip raided the ranch "El Conuco", searching for stolen military armament allegedly meant to be used in an aborted coup d'état, but nothing was found.

Criminal charges
One of the detainees allegedly stated that they had been offered 500,000 Colombian pesos to work on the farm. Upon their arrival at the farm, however, they were told that they instead would need to prepare for an attack on a Venezuelan National Guard base. The goal of the putative attack was allegedly to steal weapons and fully arm a 3,000-member militia.[1][better source needed][dead link]

According to opposition spokespeople and some of the people arrested, many of the Colombian nationals were merely unemployed and impoverished peasants.[2][failed verification] The family of an arrested Venezuelan National Guard Captain gave interviews to the press, denouncing the arrests as political persecution against those who disagreed with the Venezuelan government. He was said not to be recognized when he was presented to the Colombian detainees.[3] Some women and underage children were also included among those captured alleged paramilitaries. The latter were speedily repatriated to Colombia by Venezuelan authorities.[4] The men were caught wearing Venezuelan Army uniforms. Six Venezuelan military officers were also reported to be in custody.

Trials and sentences
During the judicial process, the number of the accused shrank to 100 as several of the accused were deported or collaborated with Venezuelan authorities. In October 2005, the Venezuelan prosecution asked for a sentence of six years for 57 to 62 of the accused, while declining to charge between 38 and 43 of the men, which were considered to have been led to Venezuela under false pretenses and/or had apparently suffered mistreatment from the alleged coup plotters.[5][6][7]

On 25 October 2005, a Venezuelan military tribunal found 27 of the men guilty, sentencing them to six years in jail, and ordered the release and deportation of the other 73 Colombians. Three out of the six Venezuelan military officers were also condemned by the tribunal.[citation needed]

Presidential pardons
In August 2007, Hugo Chávez granted a presidential pardon to 41 Colombian convicts who were not involved in "human rights violations or war crimes". The 27 Colombians who were sentenced in October 2005 were among those pardoned and deported to Colombia[8] with the exception of those being investigated for homicide (a corpse was found in the ranch where the men were captured).[9]

More:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daktari_Ranch_affair

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Here's a post on the subject from DU posted years ago which describes intensive Colombian interference in Venezuela by Colombian buttinskis:


Judi Lynn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu May-01-08 02:55 AM
Response to Reply #4
5. The last time they caught a LARGE number of paramilitaries in Venezuela,
Edited on Thu May-01-08 03:12 AM by Judi Lynn
living at the ranch of Roberto Alonso, violent militant Cuban-Venezuelan anti-Chavez activist, next door to Gustavo Cisneros, media mogul, coup plotter, friend of George H. W. Bush, (whom he met for a vacation at the resort owned by Cuban "exile" sugar barons, Alfie and Pepe Fanjul, in the Dominican Repaublic, immediately AFTER the coup was overturned by the people of Venezuela) Hugo Chavez actually turned them loose, giving a public speech and telling Venezuelans something like the men weren't the ones who concocted the plot, and he was letting them go home.

Here's a small look at the material which was published at the time:


From original post by DU'er Alpha Centuri:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3291580

My post #5;

Venezuela's Chavez pardons Colombian prisoners accused in plot
The Associated Press
Published: August 30, 2007

CARACAS, Venezuela: President Hugo Chavez on Thursday pardoned dozens of Colombians imprisoned in Venezuela on charges of involvement in an alleged 2004 plot against his government.

The order to free the 41 prisoners took effect with its publication in the government's official gazette that dismissed their convictions on charges of military rebellion.

Chavez announced his decision to free the prisoners last week as a goodwill gesture as he tries to help broker an unrelated prisoner and hostage exchange between Colombia's government and leftist rebels.

In May 2004, 118 Colombians were arrested at a ranch outside Caracas. Authorities said they were wearing Venezuelan military uniforms and were suspected of belonging to paramilitary group that was plotting to create chaos in the country and assassinate Chavez.

More:
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/30/america/LA-GEN-Venezuela-Colombia.php