U.S.-trained terrorists ask for political asylum in the United States
vheadline.com
Venezuelanalysis.com reports that two rebel Venezuelan military officers have asked for political asylum in the United States alleging that they are suffering from political persecution as they face investigation of their roles in last February's terrorist attacks against the Spanish Embassy and the Consulate of Colombia in Caracas.
Renegade National Guard (GN) Lieutenants German Varela and Jose Antonio Colina have been evading capture on arrest warrants issued November 19 by 11th Control Court judge Deyanira Ortiz for the detention of three terror suspects, also including GN Brigadier General (ret.) Felipe Rodriguez.
According to a report in the Miami-based El Nuevo Herald0, the asylum seekers fled to the USA on December 19 on a flight from Bogota (Colombia) after they managed to elude capture by law enforcement officers ... they had crossed over into Colombia from Tachira State.
Amazingly, they had also evaded capture by the Colombian Decret Police (DAS) although there are suspicions that they were aided directly or indirectly in their flight by senior Colombian diplomats in liaison with fugitive (in Colombia) Dictator-for-a-Day Pedro Carmona Estanga.
* The two rebel officers have been shown to be part of a group of military rebels who regularly gathered at 'Rebellion HQ' in Plaza Altamira in wealthy eastern Caracas to harangue the democratically-elected government in speeches calling to overthrow President Hugo Chavez Frias.
US Immigration & Customs (ICE) sources have confirmed for El Nuevo Heraldo that Varela and Colina had entered the United States on tourist visas and that both of them had previously undergone military training courses in the United States, with approval of the US Department of Defense. Detained at the Krome detention center in Miami, Varela was later transferred to the Elizabeth Contract Detention Facility in New Jersey while US authorities decide how to deal with the hot potato.
US Public Prosecutor Danilo Anderson says he is taking into account last November testimony by Silvio Daniel Merida (one of the accused rebel's bodyguards), describing all the planning of the attacks to the diplomatic buildings in detail, fingering the three officers and describing how the bombs were detonated by the Colina and Varela.
National Assembly (AN) deputy Luis Tascon says "they are desperate ... as terror suspects their asylum petitions are an example of desperation by the most radical sectors of the Venezuelan opposition ... rats are the first that abandon the ship, and that opposition ship has been leaking water for a while ... they are requesting asylum because they know the a new defeat for the opposition is imminent ... they know they did not collect enough signatures to request a recall referendum against President Chavez Frias."
AN Deputy Tascon says he sincerely hopes that the United States government complies with the international anti-terrorism treaties.
In November, fugitive Fedecamaras president Carlos Fernandez had filed for political asylum in the United States after admitting that he had conned his way out of lucury house arrest by faking a medical condition that his defense lawyer assured the court required urgent specialist treatment in the United States ... Fernandez had been one of the leaders of a 2-month labor stoppage last December-January 2003 that cost the Venezuelan nation an estimated US$7.5 billion in lost revenues.
Also in November, CICPC detectives had seized several arsenals of weapons aimed to be used by opposition militants to disrupt signature petition drives calling for a recall referendum on public officials, including President Chavez. Later the same month, opposition renegades had call to civil disobedience to overthrow the government and prominent opposition leaders were caught on tape planning destabilization to impose 15 years of dictatorship "as soon as President Chavez is overthrown." |
