VENEZUELA: Opposition leader Manuel Rosales announces he is in hiding after as government officials seek to arrest him for corruption
Record ID:
726170
VENEZUELA: Opposition leader Manuel Rosales announces he is in hiding after as government officials seek to arrest him for corruption
- Title: VENEZUELA: Opposition leader Manuel Rosales announces he is in hiding after as government officials seek to arrest him for corruption
- Date: 1st April 2009
- Summary: VARIOUS OF ROSALES SPEAKING DURING A POLITICAL EVENT CARACAS, VENEZUELA (FILE) (REUTERS) ROSALES GREETING INCOMING PRESIDENT AT THE TIME OF THE COUP AGAINST CHAVEZ, PEDRO CARMONA
- Embargoed: 16th April 2009 13:00
- Keywords:
- Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,Domestic Politics
- Reuters ID: LVAW5I2PBR5D9R2O5KC4A0M642P
- Story Text: Venezuelan opposition leader Manuel Rosales, under investigation for corruption, has gone into hiding to escape alleged persecution by President Hugo Chavez, his party said on Tuesday (March 31).
Rosales is the most visible face of Venezuela's fractured opposition movement and he was beaten by the socialist Chavez in the 2006 presidential election.
His move to escape arrest could help the socialist Chavez consolidate his control over the OPEC nation as the government faces a tumble in oil prices that forces cuts in popular social welfare programs.
Chavez last year vowed to jail Rosales, who denies the charges against him.
Omar Barboza, an official with Rosales' party A New Time, said the opposition leader had moved to "a safe place" to avoid arrest by the government.
"It is totally false that Manuel Rosales has left Venezuela. He is in the state of Zulia in a secure site, but of course he is not going to be handed over to the pack of hounds who are pursuing him without the possibility of a fair trial," Barboza said.
Critics accuse Chavez of using justice selectively in a country where corruption is rampant, but his government says it is a simple corruption investigation and wants Rosales tried on charges of illicit enrichment while behind bars.
Chavez's government has used the legal system to sideline other opposition leaders. Last year officials blocked the candidacy of Leopoldo Lopez, who was favored to win election in Caracas and seen as a possible future presidential candidate.
Rosales' move may lead Chavez to pursue similar legal attacks on high-profile opposition governors and mayors, who he has frequently describes as corrupt.
Rosales accuses Chavez of politicizing state institutions such as courts and police in efforts to build a dictatorship.
A conviction would block Rosales from running for president again and could result in a prison term of up to 10 years.
Last October. while campaigning for his allies in elections for governors and mayors, Chavez called Rosales a drug dealer and a thief. "I am determined to put Manuel Rosales in jail," he said.
Chavez won a referendum vote in February that allows him to run for re-election as many times as he wants. He still remains broadly popular even as falling oil prices have cut into vital oil revenues.
But a number of Chavez allies lost in elections last year for governors and mayors and even supporters complain of shoddy power and water systems and unchecked crime, putting opposition leaders back on the political map for the first time in years.
Chavez responded by increasing centralized control over police forces and hospitals, and this month sent troops to take over ports and airports in opposition-run states including Zulia, now governed by a Rosales protege. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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