Romrod
wrote this in his blog in Spanish, reminding us that what Chavez did in New York is illegal in Venezuela
Devils! from Romrod’s blog
Yesterday
we were all witnesses to the peculiar verb of our President at the General
Assembly of the UN, when he referred to President Bush as the Devil himself. He
not only called him the devil at the UN meeting, but also in the press
conference he gave afterwards. I suppose that this could be considered an
offense to President Bush. Whether he deserves or not the offense I suppose is
another matter, but what I am sure of is that the offenses, at least the direct
ones, are not part of the language a statesman should use. Because it is said
that those that offended, denigrate, people stop taking you seriously and your
arguments lose strength.
But what
called my attention was the looseness with which Chavez insulted Bush in front
of the whole planet. Mr. Bush, may be, as they say in my town, a tremendous
imbecile, but it just so happens that for now, he occupies the position of
President of the executive power of that country, that is he is the legitimate
representative of the people of the US. Thus, when we offend him one
could take it to mean we are offending the whole country. That is the way
offenses between public officials work.
And to
prove it, as they say in Venezuela,
a button. A legal and current one published in the page of Mintra:
“Article 148.-Anyone that offends orally or written, or in any
other way disrespects the President of the Republic or whomever may be
replacing him, will be punished with prison of between six months and thirty
months, if the offense were grave, ad half the punishment if it was light.
The punishment will be increased by a third if the offense were made publicly.
Unique
paragraph: If the offense were against the President of the Legislative Branch
or the President of the Supreme Court, the penalty Hill be from tour months to
two years when the offense is grave and half that when it is Light.
Thus, can you imagine any Christian of this Bolivarian country telling Chavez
he is the Devil himself? Would they apply this article for offense to the
majesty of the Presidency of the country.
This
article by the way was written and approved by the fans that our President
maintains within the Nacional Assembly.
(My
comment: While this article has never been applied, it is there, like the sword
of Damocles, ready to be applied at the Government’s convenience. In fact,
former Minister of Finance Francisco Uson, was applied a similar
article from military law, for disrespecting the majesty of the military
because in a TV interview he said that the soldiers burnt
at the Mara Fort, were likely killed by a flamethrower. He was sentenced to
five years in prison and is the only person in jail to this day, in the case
where three soldiers died of burns within a military prison. )
The Devil's Excrement 
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