The Devil's Excrement

I have been trying to answer that question in the last few days in trying to understand the case of the murdered prosecutor. There are three different pictures of him which are discordant. First there is the Danilo Anderson of the interview in Tal Cual in May of this year., a struggling middle class prosecutor with an activist past, defending legality above all. Then, there is the loyal member of Chávez MVR that the Government tried to sell us during his funeral and burial. Finally, there is the communist revolutionary who had lots of enemies within Chavez’ MVR, as described by his close friend City councilman Carlos Herrera.

In the Tal Cual interview Anderson claimed to be a loyal civil servant who just followed the law. He did not renounce his activist past as a “hooded” activist at Central University. Who considered an aberration to fire people for signing against Chávez. Who shopped in middle class supermarkets and not in the Government sponsored ones. Who loved shopping center Sambil, used Tommy Hilfiger and who liked to wear brand names and live well. Who did not want to be poor again. Curiously, he said his major extravagance was his Toyota, but a different one from the one in which he was killed. Eerily enough, in that interview he quoted:” As for you death, and your amorphous destructive arm, don’t believe you can scare me”.

Councilman Herrera, who was Anderson’s best friend, gives a different picture. He calls Anderson a communist revolutionary who went after Chavistas and opposition alike. Who was being pressured by the Vice-President to drop some names from his list. Who had his won small arsenal in his car, carrying two guns, a machine gun and a grenade. Who only cared about Justice.

The Government on the other hand projected the image of Anderson s a loyal member of Chavze MVR, which he denied. As a martyr, loyal only to the revolution, despite the fact that he went after many of its leaders. As a great collaborator, despite the fact that he was a loner.

Finally, there is the clear impression that Anderson was extremely loyal to Attorney general Prosecutor Isaias Rodriguez. He was assigned the cases and he went after them with all he had. In contrast to the other prosecutors used politically he paid little attention to detail, manipulating the system and the evidence, charging people for crimes that are not even penalized in the penal code in Venezuela. Following orders in detail in important cases and small cases, such as the stolen car in which an opposition figure was traveling earlier this year. He was omnipresent in political cases. He enjoyed the limelight, giving too many interviews for a prosecutor who should work with discretion.

I guess we will never know which was the true Anderson, but the last paragraph is the one closest to my perception of him.

I have been trying to answer that question in the last few days in trying to understand the case of the murdered prosecutor. There are three different pictures of him which are discordant. First there is the Danilo Anderson of the interview in Tal Cual in May of this year., a struggling middle class prosecutor with an activist past, defending legality above all. Then, there is the loyal member of Chávez MVR that the Government tried to sell us during his funeral and burial. Finally, there is the communist revolutionary who had lots of enemies within Chavez’ MVR, as described by his close friend City councilman Carlos Herrera.

In the Tal Cual interview Anderson claimed to be a loyal civil servant who just followed the law. He did not renounce his activist past as a “hooded” activist at Central University. Who considered an aberration to fire people for signing against Chávez. Who shopped in middle class supermarkets and not in the Government sponsored ones. Who loved shopping center Sambil, used Tommy Hilfiger and who liked to wear brand names and live well. Who did not want to be poor again. Curiously, he said his major extravagance was his Toyota, but a different one from the one in which he was killed. Eerily enough, in that interview he quoted:” As for you death, and your amorphous destructive arm, don’t believe you can scare me”.

Councilman Herrera, who was Anderson’s best friend, gives a different picture. He calls Anderson a communist revolutionary who went after Chavistas and opposition alike. Who was being pressured by the Vice-President to drop some names from his list. Who had his won small arsenal in his car, carrying two guns, a machine gun and a grenade. Who only cared about Justice.

The Government on the other hand projected the image of Anderson s a loyal member of Chavze MVR, which he denied. As a martyr, loyal only to the revolution, despite the fact that he went after many of its leaders. As a great collaborator, despite the fact that he was a loner.

Finally, there is the clear impression that Anderson was extremely loyal to Attorney general Prosecutor Isaias Rodriguez. He was assigned the cases and he went after them with all he had. In contrast to the other prosecutors used politically he paid little attention to detail, manipulating the system and the evidence, charging people for crimes that are not even penalized in the penal code in Venezuela. Following orders in detail in important cases and small cases, such as the stolen car in which an opposition figure was traveling earlier this year. He was omnipresent in political cases. He enjoyed the limelight, giving too many interviews for a prosecutor who should work with discretion.

I guess we will never know which was the true Anderson, but the last paragraph is the one closest to my perception of him.

I have been trying to answer that question in the last few days in trying to understand the case of the murdered prosecutor. There are three different pictures of him which are discordant. First there is the Danilo Anderson of the interview in Tal Cual in May of this year., a struggling middle class prosecutor with an activist past, defending legality above all. Then, there is the loyal member of Chávez MVR that the Government tried to sell us during his funeral and burial. Finally, there is the communist revolutionary who had lots of enemies within Chavez’ MVR, as described by his close friend City councilman Carlos Herrera.

In the Tal Cual interview Anderson claimed to be a loyal civil servant who just followed the law. He did not renounce his activist past as a “hooded” activist at Central University. Who considered an aberration to fire people for signing against Chávez. Who shopped in middle class supermarkets and not in the Government sponsored ones. Who loved shopping center Sambil, used Tommy Hilfiger and who liked to wear brand names and live well. Who did not want to be poor again. Curiously, he said his major extravagance was his Toyota, but a different one from the one in which he was killed. Eerily enough, in that interview he quoted:” As for you death, and your amorphous destructive arm, don’t believe you can scare me”.

Councilman Herrera, who was Anderson’s best friend, gives a different picture. He calls Anderson a communist revolutionary who went after Chavistas and opposition alike. Who was being pressured by the Vice-President to drop some names from his list. Who had his won small arsenal in his car, carrying two guns, a machine gun and a grenade. Who only cared about Justice.

The Government on the other hand projected the image of Anderson s a loyal member of Chavze MVR, which he denied. As a martyr, loyal only to the revolution, despite the fact that he went after many of its leaders. As a great collaborator, despite the fact that he was a loner.

Finally, there is the clear impression that Anderson was extremely loyal to Attorney general Prosecutor Isaias Rodriguez. He was assigned the cases and he went after them with all he had. In contrast to the other prosecutors used politically he paid little attention to detail, manipulating the system and the evidence, charging people for crimes that are not even penalized in the penal code in Venezuela. Following orders in detail in important cases and small cases, such as the stolen car in which an opposition figure was traveling earlier this year. He was omnipresent in political cases. He enjoyed the limelight, giving too many interviews for a prosecutor who should work with discretion.

I guess we will never know which was the true Anderson, but the last paragraph is the one closest to my perception of him.

In my post right after the Anderson murder, I was asking for balance, for some degree of caution in what both the Government and the opposition said or did. I said the government had a higher responsibility and should be careful. After one week, things are not going well. The government seems to be taking advantage of Anderson’s death to initiate a new wave of persecution and repression in the name of security and using Anderson’s death as the excuse.

When even the Vice President recognizes that the police mistreated the parents of Antonio Lopez Castillo. When Lopez Castillo is killed with fifteen bullets and witnesses say he did not even fire a shot. When the Heads of the intelligence police and investigative police are not leading the investigations, supplanted by the Minister of Justice. When day after day charges are brought against opposition figures for one case or the other (None against any pro-Chavez figures). When a sentence by the Supreme Court which declared the military innocent of rebellion in April 2002 is going to be appealed and the case reopened, in clear violation of the law. When the police shoot first and ask questions second. When a suspect that was turned in safely to the police arrives at the Court beaten up. When Ministers lie about what really happened. When every chance for peace is bypassed and ignored. It is then that you recognize that there is no chance for democracy and dissent. No chance for open discussion. No chance for a fair trial. There may not even be a space for this blog anymore.

This is what we have come to. As Carlos Blanco says in today’s El Universal, for the Chavez Government there are first class and second class deaths. Danilo was first class, opposition deaths are second class. After six years of murders with impunity the Government suddenly grabs the flag of the anti-terrorism fight. This from the government presided by the man, who as President, wrote a letter of admiration and solidarity to Carlos the Jackal, the biggest terrorist of the pre-Bin Laden era. Who are they trying to fool?

The Government is now going after the former Mayor of Caracas, elected under the Chávez platform. A man that I truly disliked before, during and after his support of Chávez, but that you can not accuse of not being a democrat. It is going after the only political party that received more votes in this election than in the previous one: Primero Justicia. It is going after close to four hundred people that went to the presidential palace on April 2002. Whether they signed Carmona’s declaration or not. It is simply an easy way to get rid of hundreds of opponents.

It is becoming a dangerous time for all of us. For the first time, I am being careful of what I say. I need to be careful of what I say. Most of what I write could be construed as trying to destabilize the Government. If they want to, the case against anyone can be easily be built in an instant. The media is clearly using self-censorship. Cases and deaths are forgotten or simply ignored. Meanwhile, the Vice-President issues a declaration against the media, accusing it of manipulating the Anderson case and the deaths that have followed it. But we hear no declaration against the illegal procedures followed in all of those cases. Or the inhuman ones in the case of the Lopez Castillo family who were told of their son’s deaths and immediately were placed in a room, while the authorities searched the premises, finding an arsenal of weapons, with the elderly couple then handcuffed and taken to jail for two days. (The Vice-President only referred to the bad treatment, not the the illegalities)

Unfortunately, after the regional elections there was a chance for some peace as the Chávez administration had no real opponents. Anderson’s death even gave an opening for a truce when the murder was unanimously condemned by everyone. However, this chance was wasted and the Government’s aggressive behavior of the last few days bodes badly for our future.

What a difference from the way the real coupsters of 1992 were treated. The now Minister of Justice led the attack against the Government’s TV station where a dozen civilians were killed by the military forces. Chavez was pardoned. Hundreds of deaths from those coups were forgotten in the name of peace and coexistence.

In contrast this Government is persecuting opponents where cases do not even exist. Where cases are fabricated overnight. Reopening cases forgetting about double jeopardy. Finding bodies and weapons everywhere, but in the meantime the real evidence, like that from Anderson’s blown up car, his autopsy and the connection between those killed by the police and the murder has yet to turn up.

These are dangerous times. For now, I will continue blogging using public information, but will try not to use any information that I receive privately, which may get me into problems.

In my post right after the Anderson murder, I was asking for balance, for some degree of caution in what both the Government and the opposition said or did. I said the government had a higher responsibility and should be careful. After one week, things are not going well. The government seems to be taking advantage of Anderson’s death to initiate a new wave of persecution and repression in the name of security and using Anderson’s death as the excuse.

When even the Vice President recognizes that the police mistreated the parents of Antonio Lopez Castillo. When Lopez Castillo is killed with fifteen bullets and witnesses say he did not even fire a shot. When the Heads of the intelligence police and investigative police are not leading the investigations, supplanted by the Minister of Justice. When day after day charges are brought against opposition figures for one case or the other (None against any pro-Chavez figures). When a sentence by the Supreme Court which declared the military innocent of rebellion in April 2002 is going to be appealed and the case reopened, in clear violation of the law. When the police shoot first and ask questions second. When a suspect that was turned in safely to the police arrives at the Court beaten up. When Ministers lie about what really happened. When every chance for peace is bypassed and ignored. It is then that you recognize that there is no chance for democracy and dissent. No chance for open discussion. No chance for a fair trial. There may not even be a space for this blog anymore.

This is what we have come to. As Carlos Blanco says in today’s El Universal, for the Chavez Government there are first class and second class deaths. Danilo was first class, opposition deaths are second class. After six years of murders with impunity the Government suddenly grabs the flag of the anti-terrorism fight. This from the government presided by the man, who as President, wrote a letter of admiration and solidarity to Carlos the Jackal, the biggest terrorist of the pre-Bin Laden era. Who are they trying to fool?

The Government is now going after the former Mayor of Caracas, elected under the Chávez platform. A man that I truly disliked before, during and after his support of Chávez, but that you can not accuse of not being a democrat. It is going after the only political party that received more votes in this election than in the previous one: Primero Justicia. It is going after close to four hundred people that went to the presidential palace on April 2002. Whether they signed Carmona’s declaration or not. It is simply an easy way to get rid of hundreds of opponents.

It is becoming a dangerous time for all of us. For the first time, I am being careful of what I say. I need to be careful of what I say. Most of what I write could be construed as trying to destabilize the Government. If they want to, the case against anyone can be easily be built in an instant. The media is clearly using self-censorship. Cases and deaths are forgotten or simply ignored. Meanwhile, the Vice-President issues a declaration against the media, accusing it of manipulating the Anderson case and the deaths that have followed it. But we hear no declaration against the illegal procedures followed in all of those cases. Or the inhuman ones in the case of the Lopez Castillo family who were told of their son’s deaths and immediately were placed in a room, while the authorities searched the premises, finding an arsenal of weapons, with the elderly couple then handcuffed and taken to jail for two days. (The Vice-President only referred to the bad treatment, not the the illegalities)

Unfortunately, after the regional elections there was a chance for some peace as the Chávez administration had no real opponents. Anderson’s death even gave an opening for a truce when the murder was unanimously condemned by everyone. However, this chance was wasted and the Government’s aggressive behavior of the last few days bodes badly for our future.

What a difference from the way the real coupsters of 1992 were treated. The now Minister of Justice led the attack against the Government’s TV station where a dozen civilians were killed by the military forces. Chavez was pardoned. Hundreds of deaths from those coups were forgotten in the name of peace and coexistence.

In contrast this Government is persecuting opponents where cases do not even exist. Where cases are fabricated overnight. Reopening cases forgetting about double jeopardy. Finding bodies and weapons everywhere, but in the meantime the real evidence, like that from Anderson’s blown up car, his autopsy and the connection between those killed by the police and the murder has yet to turn up.

These are dangerous times. For now, I will continue blogging using public information, but will try not to use any information that I receive privately, which may get me into problems.

Over ten years ago, I had lunch once or twice a week with a cousin. At these lunches we talked about many things, but we always came back to what needed to be done with the Venezuelan economy. We came up with a list of problems that needed to be addressed. Unfortunately, after almost 12 years, the list has not changed much. Here is a more modern version of the list. I will try to discuss it item by item as time allows. They are in no particular order, except for the first one which I believe attacks most of the problems of our economy. If I had someones ear (even Chavez) this is what I would suggest:

1)      Dollarize the economy. Completely eliminate the Bolivar.

2)      Approve a pension fund bill that allows retirement at 65 for everyone and 60 if you have worked for 35 years. Pension plans would be based on contributions from workers.

3)      Emphasize primary education over university education. Strengthen technical and trade schools. Start food programs at elementary schools. Force universities to impose time limits on years of attendance to open spaces and save money.

4)      Create a meritocratic system for civil service managers.

5)      Give title to land in city barrios and farmlands occupied by squatters.

6)      Give away Government farmlands to farmers and give them title after a certain period of time.

7)      Reduce the size of the military.

8)      Design a plan to turn PDVSA into the largest oil company in the world. Give all citizens a direct stake in a fraction of the company.

9)      Privatize the country’s electrical network.

10)  Liberate the price of gasoline. Subsidize public transport to convert to natural gas. Use profits from new gasoline prices to start a long term stabilization fund with strict controls.

11)  Start a long range housing program with private sector help.

12)  Start a long range highway program with private sector help.

13)  Turn all health facilities to local Governments, including the budgets.

14)  Reduce import Duties.

15)  Allow for hourly and part time positions.

I am sure there was more, this is as far as my memory reaches now. Will add more if I remember.

There is so much information floating around that it is really hard to make sense of it all. But I will give it a try, because there are a lot of confusion and complex facts surrounding the murder of Danilo Anderson and its aftermath. Writing them helps understand things.

The Murder:

The bomb that blew up Anderson’s car was made out of 250 grams of C-4, reportedly the smallest size in which that explosive is available. Even if C-4 is not commonly available, it is mostly used by the military; sufficient amounts of it are missing from Venezuelan military facilities that anyone could have made the bomb. The police have been contradictory about where the device was placed. The first report talked about two devices or two timers which has never been mentioned again. After that, various police spokesmen have talked variously about a bomb on the outside of the chassis of the car and a bomb underneath the driver’s seat. In either case, the bombing was carried out with “military” precision, Anderson was killed and the car burned.

People are making a big deal out of Anderson’s cell phone surviving intact, but there may be any explanations for this. I think it was weirder that a high Government official had been murdered and a bunch of other Government officials showed up without any bodyguards, standing around publicly in an area where ten minutes earlier a bomb had exploded. There could have been other devices around. Are they that stupid?

The whole style smells like a military operation, not a police operation, but sometimes police members come out of the military anyway. However, as we will see below all of the “suspects” to date have been more police related than military and are connected by their love of guns.

The Reaction:

The Government acted with the outrage that the situation merited, but that it never exhibited with the over 170 people that have died in political acts during the last three or four years. The opposition unanimously condemned the murder. The Minister of Interior and Justice initially acted with caution. The same could not be said of the Vice-president and some Deputies of the National Assembly.

The Vice-President accused Cuban-Venezuelan activists in Miami and called on the US to expel some of them. This was prompted in part by irresponsible statements by TV personality Orlando Urdaneta that said the problems of Venezuela could be fixed with one well placed shot.

National Assembly member Iris Varela blamed Colombian paramilitary in association with former police members of the Metropolitan police in Caracas. Initially one of them was jailed for the case only to be later charged for the murders of April 11^th. 2002.

The Attorney General said that Danilo Anderson was killed because he could not be bought, but never clarified who was trying to buy him or why.

Anderson’s funeral turned into a political act. The Government took advantage of it to make him look like a martyr with some of his biggest enemies showing up to carry the casket. One of the biggest mysteries was the apparent presence of one of the murderers of Altamira Square the day after the recall referendum, who was right at the front, quite close to the attorney General. Here are some blow ups from both the funeral and the pictures I posted on August 17^th. of the murders. While the identification is not conclusive, the resemblance is quite strong. What is bothersome is that this man is supposed to be in jail. In fact, his lawyer today said he was in jail, leading everyone to question what he was doing at the funeral if it was him:

Side Story # 1: At this point it is important to point point out that one of Danilo’s best fiends Councilman Carlos Herrera began accusing the Vice President of being involved in the murder, saying Rangel was pressuring Anderson to remove some people from the list of those being charged for rebellion by being at the presidential Palace on April 12^th.

Side Story #2: The man in the pictures above is supposedly of Colombian origin (not Cuban like many have said) and had lived in the Petare area of Caracas for years. He has claimed to work for Rangel’s son and said he was protected by the Vice-President.

Side Story #3: Some people in the list of those that went to the Presidential Palace that day have been reportedly blackmailed for up to US$ 500,000. One of them reportedly went to Rangel and told him that he refused to pay and would go public and make accusations about it. Maybe this explains #1, Rangel called Anderson and Anderson felt pressured enough to tell his friend.

The initial reaction of the Government to the murder suggests that it had nothing to do with it. However, much like the opposition, the Government is not a monolithic front that acts as one block and there are certainly radical fringe groups within it as capable as doing something that horrific, in the same manner that there are fringe groups in the opposition also capable of doing it.

At first sight, it is difficult to imagine what the Government could get out of it. On the contrary, the murder opens a can of worms that may lead many of those that are part of it to leave, out of fear the jobs they occupy which are badly paid. Moreover, if it was sanctioned by the Government it could only be known by a small group which would generate suspicions and backstabbing within it. Thus, the only reason to murder Anderson would be to make the opposition look bad and that would imply having planted evidence ahead of time to accuse certain groups which does not appear to be the case so far. But the death also opens a dangerous Pandora’s Box, showing both sides that such killings are indeed possible.

The opposition also gets nothing out of it, but its fringe groups who field cornered are certainly capable of it and Anderson certainly was very symbolic of persecution and intimidation to make him a symbol. The same could not be said for a Government sanctioned murder.

The Government Suspects

Sometime early this week, there was a confrontation between police and lawyer Antonio Lopez Castillo. Lopez Castillo was driving his girlfriend’s car when an unmarked Toyota tried to pass him and block his way. Lopez accelerates as the other car overtakes him, two heavily armed men get out of the car and Lopez runs over one of them. As Lopez gets out of his car with a weapon, he is shot numerous times and killed.

According to the Government, they were following Lopez as they suspected he was involved. However some suggest the cops thought they were following General Gonzalez Gonzalez, one of the leaders of Altamira square, who is in hiding. Below the picture of Lopez on the left and Gonzalez Gonzalez in two different shots, one taken by me at a mach in 2003.  They are both quite bald and have similar features. Witnesses say Lopez never managed to shoot and Lopez was shot many times and was given a last shot on the Head as he was lying on the ground.

The Government claims Lopez was an explosives expert. He was certainly a gun collector, but according to the head of the law firm where he worked he had little interest for politics. The Government claims he took a CIA course and had a diploma from it, which is really funny. I understand he took a private course on explosives. Lopez’ work as a lawyer had nothing to do with political cases. Lopez was a member of the shooting Club Magnum where many ex-cops and ex-military hang around. That may be as far as his involvement in this case goes.

For the Government this was however a problem, they had a dead body and no apparent reason to kill the suspect. Thus, they show up at Lopez’ parents house both of whom held important positions in the Caldera Administration in the 70’s and his mother was a social Christian Senator for many years.

Intelligence police showed up to search the house illegally, as they had no orders from a Judge. Later they claim there was a phone order, which is simply illegal. They immediately claimed to have found explosives all over the house as well as weapons, shown below, some of which Lopez’ mother said she had never seen. Reportedly, there were C-4 packages stuck to the underside of the kitchen table. One of the maids of the house said that she had never seen those explosives and the cops went straight to where they “found” them. Lopez’ parents where handcuffed and taken to jail and publicly mistreated. Even Vice-President Rangel said that they were not treated properly.  Ironically, the Head of Lopez’ law form was the Minister of Justice in 1959 who had to deal with the prosecution of the Dictators’ goons and hatchet men then.

Separately, another cop was killed in Barquisimeto yesterday and three other ex-cops have been detained on the case, one of them the Head of the Magnum club where Lopez used to practice. Separately the Minister of Justice continues to use a lot of innuendo, suggesting Anderson was being followed, according to videos from a shopping center, but has yet to show any of this evidence and how it relates to the suspects.

So far, I am not very convinced. I think the case points to military and all of these suspects, jailed and killed are unrelated to the case but somehow the Government could care less if they are guilty or not. Going after these cops with little evidence and shooting on sight is certainly not the way to go to clear the case. It may be too early to reach conclusions, stay tuned for more developments in the next few days. We might be able to see clearer then.

There is so much information floating around that it is really hard to make sense of it all. But I will give it a try, because there are a lot of confusion and complex facts surrounding the murder of Danilo Anderson and its aftermath. Writing them helps understand things.

The Murder:

The bomb that blew up Anderson’s car was made out of 250 grams of C-4, reportedly the smallest size in which that explosive is available. Even if C-4 is not commonly available, it is mostly used by the military; sufficient amounts of it are missing from Venezuelan military facilities that anyone could have made the bomb. The police have been contradictory about where the device was placed. The first report talked about two devices or two timers which has never been mentioned again. After that, various police spokesmen have talked variously about a bomb on the outside of the chassis of the car and a bomb underneath the driver’s seat. In either case, the bombing was carried out with “military” precision, Anderson was killed and the car burned.

People are making a big deal out of Anderson’s cell phone surviving intact, but there may be any explanations for this. I think it was weirder that a high Government official had been murdered and a bunch of other Government officials showed up without any bodyguards, standing around publicly in an area where ten minutes earlier a bomb had exploded. There could have been other devices around. Are they that stupid?

The whole style smells like a military operation, not a police operation, but sometimes police members come out of the military anyway. However, as we will see below all of the “suspects” to date have been more police related than military and are connected by their love of guns.

The Reaction:

The Government acted with the outrage that the situation merited, but that it never exhibited with the over 170 people that have died in political acts during the last three or four years. The opposition unanimously condemned the murder. The Minister of Interior and Justice initially acted with caution. The same could not be said of the Vice-president and some Deputies of the National Assembly.

The Vice-President accused Cuban-Venezuelan activists in Miami and called on the US to expel some of them. This was prompted in part by irresponsible statements by TV personality Orlando Urdaneta that said the problems of Venezuela could be fixed with one well placed shot.

National Assembly member Iris Varela blamed Colombian paramilitary in association with former police members of the Metropolitan police in Caracas. Initially one of them was jailed for the case only to be later charged for the murders of April 11^th. 2002.

The Attorney General said that Danilo Anderson was killed because he could not be bought, but never clarified who was trying to buy him or why.

Anderson’s funeral turned into a political act. The Government took advantage of it to make him look like a martyr with some of his biggest enemies showing up to carry the casket. One of the biggest mysteries was the apparent presence of one of the murderers of Altamira Square the day after the recall referendum, who was right at the front, quite close to the attorney General. Here are some blow ups from both the funeral and the pictures I posted on August 17^th. of the murders. While the identification is not conclusive, the resemblance is quite strong. What is bothersome is that this man is supposed to be in jail. In fact, his lawyer today said he was in jail, leading everyone to question what he was doing at the funeral if it was him:

Side Story # 1: At this point it is important to point point out that one of Danilo’s best fiends Councilman Carlos Herrera began accusing the Vice President of being involved in the murder, saying Rangel was pressuring Anderson to remove some people from the list of those being charged for rebellion by being at the presidential Palace on April 12^th.

Side Story #2: The man in the pictures above is supposedly of Colombian origin (not Cuban like many have said) and had lived in the Petare area of Caracas for years. He has claimed to work for Rangel’s son and said he was protected by the Vice-President.

Side Story #3: Some people in the list of those that went to the Presidential Palace that day have been reportedly blackmailed for up to US$ 500,000. One of them reportedly went to Rangel and told him that he refused to pay and would go public and make accusations about it. Maybe this explains #1, Rangel called Anderson and Anderson felt pressured enough to tell his friend.

The initial reaction of the Government to the murder suggests that it had nothing to do with it. However, much like the opposition, the Government is not a monolithic front that acts as one block and there are certainly radical fringe groups within it as capable as doing something that horrific, in the same manner that there are fringe groups in the opposition also capable of doing it.

At first sight, it is difficult to imagine what the Government could get out of it. On the contrary, the murder opens a can of worms that may lead many of those that are part of it to leave, out of fear the jobs they occupy which are badly paid. Moreover, if it was sanctioned by the Government it could only be known by a small group which would generate suspicions and backstabbing within it. Thus, the only reason to murder Anderson would be to make the opposition look bad and that would imply having planted evidence ahead of time to accuse certain groups which does not appear to be the case so far. But the death also opens a dangerous Pandora’s Box, showing both sides that such killings are indeed possible.

The opposition also gets nothing out of it, but its fringe groups who field cornered are certainly capable of it and Anderson certainly was very symbolic of persecution and intimidation to make him a symbol. The same could not be said for a Government sanctioned murder.

The Government Suspects

Sometime early this week, there was a confrontation between police and lawyer Antonio Lopez Castillo. Lopez Castillo was driving his girlfriend’s car when an unmarked Toyota tried to pass him and block his way. Lopez accelerates as the other car overtakes him, two heavily armed men get out of the car and Lopez runs over one of them. As Lopez gets out of his car with a weapon, he is shot numerous times and killed.

According to the Government, they were following Lopez as they suspected he was involved. However some suggest the cops thought they were following General Gonzalez Gonzalez, one of the leaders of Altamira square, who is in hiding. Below the picture of Lopez on the left and Gonzalez Gonzalez in two different shots, one taken by me at a mach in 2003.  They are both quite bald and have similar features. Witnesses say Lopez never managed to shoot and Lopez was shot many times and was given a last shot on the Head as he was lying on the ground.

The Government claims Lopez was an explosives expert. He was certainly a gun collector, but according to the head of the law firm where he worked he had little interest for politics. The Government claims he took a CIA course and had a diploma from it, which is really funny. I understand he took a private course on explosives. Lopez’ work as a lawyer had nothing to do with political cases. Lopez was a member of the shooting Club Magnum where many ex-cops and ex-military hang around. That may be as far as his involvement in this case goes.

For the Government this was however a problem, they had a dead body and no apparent reason to kill the suspect. Thus, they show up at Lopez’ parents house both of whom held important positions in the Caldera Administration in the 70’s and his mother was a social Christian Senator for many years.

Intelligence police showed up to search the house illegally, as they had no orders from a Judge. Later they claim there was a phone order, which is simply illegal. They immediately claimed to have found explosives all over the house as well as weapons, shown below, some of which Lopez’ mother said she had never seen. Reportedly, there were C-4 packages stuck to the underside of the kitchen table. One of the maids of the house said that she had never seen those explosives and the cops went straight to where they “found” them. Lopez’ parents where handcuffed and taken to jail and publicly mistreated. Even Vice-President Rangel said that they were not treated properly.  Ironically, the Head of Lopez’ law form was the Minister of Justice in 1959 who had to deal with the prosecution of the Dictators’ goons and hatchet men then.

Separately, another cop was killed in Barquisimeto yesterday and three other ex-cops have been detained on the case, one of them the Head of the Magnum club where Lopez used to practice. Separately the Minister of Justice continues to use a lot of innuendo, suggesting Anderson was being followed, according to videos from a shopping center, but has yet to show any of this evidence and how it relates to the suspects.

So far, I am not very convinced. I think the case points to military and all of these suspects, jailed and killed are unrelated to the case but somehow the Government could care less if they are guilty or not. Going after these cops with little evidence and shooting on sight is certainly not the way to go to clear the case. It may be too early to reach conclusions, stay tuned for more developments in the next few days. We might be able to see clearer then.