(Written June 4th 2008)
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has recently used his decree powers (given to him by the National Assembly last year) to pass a law that will carry out some major and highly controversial changes in the Venezuelan intelligence services. The new law is called “The Law of the National Intelligence and Counterintelligence System” (or in Spanish Ley del Sistema Nacional de Inteligencia y Contrainteligencia SINICO) and it will do away with the two most important intelligence services in Venezuela: The DISIP and the DIM. The DISIP is an intelligence service police outfit under the Ministry of Interior. An organization that has had a lot of controversy since its birth in the 60’s and 70’s. Mainly due to the many accusations that have been made against it for allegedly curtailing the human rights of their prisoners while interrogating them. The DIM on the other hand is the Venezuelan military’s own intelligence organization and whose doings have been less perceived by the civilian population due to their more secretive and military nature. Both of these agencies will be replaced with two new organizations: The General Intelligence Office and The General Counterintelligence office.
This, however, is not the concern of the critics of the new law. Since Chavez has already changed almost all of the traditional names held by government organizations in Venezuela. He even went as far as to change the name of the country and its flag. What has really worried critics is that the new law will make people comply with requests to aid the new intelligence agencies and community activist groups loyal to Chávez. A refusal to collaborate can result in two to four years in prison for ordinary citizens, and four to six years for government employees.
The New York Times Caracas based Andean correspondent, Simon Romero, has interpreted this as yet another attempt by Chavez to “assert greater control over public institutions in the face of political challenges.” Particularly after his constitutional reforms were denied in last December’s constitutional referendum. Chavez, however, still insists that most Venezuelan’s want a “socialist” state, even though most Venezuelan’s rejected his controversial constitutional reforms. He has thus emphasized various times that he will not slow down on his goal of transforming Venezuela into a “socialist state.” The recent nationalization of some private industrial companies can serve as yet another example of his other current attempts to gain greater control over the Venezuelan society and make it more “socialist.”
Chavez insists that the new law has only the aim of protecting its citizens. Essentially trying to pass off the law as one that is necessary for national security and that will act as a barrier against the enemies of the revolution. Thus any critic of this new law has been accused with being an “agent of the empire.” This is probably the most common argument made by Chavez and his supporters against anyone that does not share their “revolutionary” aims. The “Empire” is obviously the United States government, which Chavez sees as his clear antithesis and enemy. The New York Times reported that Interior Minister Ramón Rodríguez Chacín has not hidden this fact and bluntly told reporters that the reasons why these measures are being taken are to more properly combat “interference from the United States.”
Yet it is quite ironic that Chavez has in fact now created a law that allows some of the highly controversial methods permitted by the U.S Patriot Act. Such methods include the authorization of intelligence agencies to use any particular or technically designed way to intercept and get information. This law has also some strong similarities to a particular strategy used by the Cuban government. Cuba being a key political ally of Chavez’s government. Chavez’s new law is similar to a Cuban strategy in that it will use the use community-monitoring groups as intelligence gathering assistants that will report back to the government intelligence services. This is something that the Cuban government does with the neighborhood Committees for the Defense and their own intelligence service. These committees have been architected by the Cuban government to protect their “Revolution” and they use them as their informants of anti-government behavior within the many neighborhoods of Cuba. The New York Times reported that Juan Jose Molina a legislator of the party PODEMOS plainly accused the Venezuelan government of making a “purely Cuban style policy.” PODEMOS is a left wing party that refused to merge into Chavez’s new PSUV (United Socialist Party of Venezuela) party. The Venezuelan newspaper El Universal has also gone on to report, that Minister Chacin was quick to reply to all critics of the new law and their main argument. Basically by just refusing to recognize peoples fears of seeing this law as an attempt by the Chavez government to create a society of informers.
Chacin says no society of informers will be created and that those who simply do not report treasonous actions are simply collaborating and acting as an “accomplice.” El Universal has reported that Chacin would state that this was also a way of dealing with a “new menace.” Since the previous intelligence services had a “cold war” mentality. Chacin in the governments defense stressed that in the past, when the Venezuelan intelligence services managed to obtain information that had given them enough confidence to believe that there was national security risk, had been usually blocked by various laws. El Universal reported that Chacin told journalists that before this new law had been past by decree “they could not present [such evidence] before a court, [because they had to abide] with a set requirements that guaranteed the human rights and the defense of the accused.” In other words previously intelligence services had to go through the legal process that verified the authenticity and reality of their evidence. This being essential to keeping a court system that can carry out and maintain “checks and balances.” Thus after such statements it is clear why many Venezuelans are extremely suspicious of their governments actions. Particularly when they hear their own Interior Minister explaining the so called "benefits" of ignoring the laws that guarantee human rights and the defense of the accused.
As I have previously stated this controversial law has some disturbing similarities to other contemporary paternalistic and authoritarian laws. Laws that tend to be made under the pretense of "defending" a nation from foreign fifth column like enemies. This law further resembles the American Patriot act in the way that it was also made behind close doors. The only real difference is that Chavez with his decree powers simply made it into law with out any sort of discussion on the matter. If it had been presented to the National Assembly the law would have been made public for opponents to know and take action against it. The National Assembly would have most likely passed it since Chavez’s party has an almost complete control of it since December of 2005. But the few opponents in the National Assembly could have at least expressed their opinions and the large opposition movement that exists outside of the government institutions could have certainly mounted a good resistance on the street. Since most opposition parties made the mistake of boycotting the last elections for the Venezuelan National Assembly.
Legal experts and human rights groups feel particularly suspicious of this new law. The Venezuelan courts, which have been largely plagued by Chavez supporting judges, have already shown some signs of dissent. Such dissent was seen with comments made by judge Blanca Rosa Mármol de León a member of Venezuela’s top court. She told the New York Times and other journalists: “I have an obligation to say this, as a citizen and a judge. This is a step toward the creation of a society of informers.” Here worries were also echoed by Rocio de San Miguel who is a legal scholar and head of a Venezuelan NGO that focuses on domestic security and defense issues. Information uncovered by her group showed that Chavez’s attempts to create a million man armed reserve militia had not at all been reached. Ms. San Miguel is afraid that such information might be deemed “illegal” under the new intelligence law.
Legal experts and human rights groups in Venezuela have expressed concern in recent years for what they have believed to be a judicial system that lacks a certain level of autonomy. This is due to some serious political influence by the Chavez’s government. But what has legal experts and human rights groups most vehemently up in protest is the passage of the law that will require both the judges and prosecutors to assist the Venezuelan intelligence services. Rather than checking the veracity of the intelligence that is made against those that will be accused of unpatriotic actions. Although the passage of the law that deals with this issue is, as New York Times correspondent Simon Romero stated, quite “vague” but the idea remains quite obvious in the eyes of many. The idea is in the eyes of many Venezuelan’s and legal scholars as being to further curtail the separation of powers by requiring all justice officials to vigorously cooperate with the new national intelligence services. Rather than to uphold the democratic concept of having independent courts which carry out “checks and balances.” Courts and democratic governments should always maintain these principles if they wish to have a democracy that functions. Jose Miguel Vivanco, the current Director of Human Rights Watch for the Americas, would further state that the problem with this law in Venezuela was not just the fact that you had a president ruling by decree but also one where a “country’s judges must [now] serve as spies for the government.”
One thing is for sure though, and that is that the law is in the books. Whether the government will more easily harass opponents, as it is feared, will be seen soon enough. For now the Venezuelan opposition, that has its sights on the up and coming municipal and state elections, has already expressed their concern. An NGO called la Red de Apoyo por la Justicia y Paz has already asked the Supreme Court to verify the constitutionality of the new intelligence law in the hopes of getting it repelled. Whether this will work is seen as questionable since many accuse the Venezuelan Supreme Court of being too aligned with the Chavez government. Also the fact that two popular members of the opposition (Henrique Capriles Radonski of Justice First and Leopoldo Lopez of A New Time) have been previously or currently held up with the Venezuelan courts due to various accusations can be seen as a pre-law of National Intelligence gambit. A gambit that has been instrumental in showing to some of the Venezuelan people that the Chavez government will use government institutions to stop members of the opposition. Thus raising some honest fears about whether this law will now make “hard to prove” or even fabricated accusations much easier to do so.
(UPDATE: The law was to be later retracted by Chavez six days later.)