Everyone with half a brain knows that Hugo Chavez (the ornagutan) is a dictator who will stop at nothing to eliminate those who criticize his regime so he can stay in power. TGO
Refer to story below. Source: Associated Press
CARACAS, Venezuela – An outspoken opponent of President Hugo Chavez said Monday that police have taken him into custody while he awaits trial on conspiracy charges for saying Venezuela has become a haven for drug trafficking.
Former Zulia state Gov. Oswaldo Alvarez Paz, who has also been accused of spreading false information and publicly inciting violation of the law, said federal agents planned to escort him to intelligence headquarters in Caracas.
“I am assuming responsibility for the things I have said,” Alvarez Paz told the Globovision television channel.
The station broadcast footage of government agents accompanying Alvarez Paz from his residence in the capital of Caracas to an awaiting car, which then drove off.
His attorney, Omar Estacio, said the charges are unfounded and expressed doubt that prosecutors would have any success in court.
“He is a political prisoner, there is no doubt about that,” Estacio said.
Representatives from the Attorney General’s Office did not immediately answer phone calls seeking comment on the arrest Monday evening.
The charges against Alvarez Paz stem from comments he made during a talk show broadcast by Globovision, the only TV channel in Venezuela that remains critical of Chavez.
“Venezuela has turned into a center of operations that facilitates the business of drug trafficking,” Alvarez Paz said last month on “Hello Citizen.”
Alvarez Paz has said he stands by the remarks and insists he has broken no laws.
Opponents accuse Chavez of growing increasingly intolerant of criticism and using the judicial system to harass and imprison opponents.
Chavez denies holding sway over prosecutors and says only people who break the law are being prosecuted and jailed.
