–It turns
out that the reason why former Governor Lapi was ostensibly jailed for was not
following the law and not opening for bids for a highway contract. Well, the
President’s father has done this repeatedly and denounced for it, but hey! He
is the father of Hugo Chavez the autocrat, thus he has not even been
investigated for it! Chavez’ father is also accused of naming Chavez’ brother
Argenis as “pro-tempore Governor” allowing him to essentially run the state.
That position does not exist in Venezuela’s
legislation.
–And how
about the Milan
family. Oly Millan is the Minister for the Popular Economy and before that she
was the President of the fund for agricultural development Fondafa. Fondafa has
been formally charged with financing more hectares for planting that there are
available in Yaracuy state. Well, the Minister’s
brother went to the Prosecutor’s office yesterday to accuse his own brother
in law, for asking for a Bs. 1 billion commission if he wants to obtain a Bs. 7
billion loan from Fondafa. Oly Millan’s husband now works at Fondafa where his
brother in law says he wields and enormous amount of power, given that his wife
is a Minister. He also accused his brother in law with threatening to kill him.
I guess it is all in the family with the Millans.
–Former
Causa R leader and supposedly now Presidential Candidate Pablo Medina showed up at the
Prosecutor’s General’s office to denounce the Minister of Interior and
Justice and his brother for influence peddling. The case was reported here long ago, but
Justice Velasquez Alvaray mentioned it when he was charged by the moral
council. Chacon’s brother Arne was a lowly employee of the tax office in 2002
but now has purchased milks pants and owns an investment bank. Moreover, the Superintendence
of Banks had to approve the purchase and the basic requirement for purchasing a
bank is having banking experience which Chacon lacks. You also have to prove
the source of funds. These are the miracles of corruption in the revolution.
–There
was an interesting
interview with former Minister of Finance under Chavez General Francisco
Uson. Uson is the only person jailed for the case of the burnt soldiers of Fort Mara
because…imagine! He said that the burns were caused by a flamethrower on a TV program. Those
who caused the deaths are at large, they have not even been charged, but this was
a good excuse to jail Uson, a true political prisoner in Chavez’ Venezuela. Nothing has been done about the human rights
violations that day or who killed the soldiers, but Uson has been jailed since last summer for his crime of sying what he thought. It is all a huge cover-up by the
military. And nothing happens.
Amazingly, Uson was quite quiet after resigning
on April 11th. 2002 because he blamed Chavez for the deaths that day. In
the interview Uson says that Chavez acts like a gangster head of an organized
crime family. He says literally with reference to the Generals in power “He
(Chavez) places them where there is (money) and let’s them steal with full
hands”. What impressed me about the interview, besides the fact that Uson has
always been a very serious character, was the fact that in many questions he answers
by saying that all he knows about a topic is what he has read in the media and says nothing more. Uson
was convicted for a “crime of opinion”, a crime that does not exist in Venezuela’s
legislation.
These four cases show that contrary to the
Vice-President’s statements Justice has progressed little in the robolution.
In fact, most of these corruption cases are simply too obvious and blatant and
nothing happens. Somebody should explain to him that except for the Velasquez
Alvaray case, few Chavistas have been investigated or charged, despite the many
cases of corruptions denounced in the media with evidence.