Andean Group - September 2014 (ISSN 1741-4466)

The association of victims (Asovic) of Venezuela's 2002 coup d’état has publicly rejected the judicial decision to grant house arrest to the former Caracas police chief, Iván Simonovis, and demanded a full explanation from the government led by President Nicolás Maduro.

Simonovis, who was the chief of police during the coup that temporarily ousted the late former president Hugo Chávez (1999-2013), was identified by the Chávez government as one of the main leaders of the revolt. As such, he is one of the most hated figures among Chavistas. The political opposition has always maintained that Simonovis was used as a scapegoat by the Chávez government, which, it says, presented trumped up charges against him. The opposition considered Simonovis a political prisoner and had long called for his release. After years of rejecting such calls, the judiciary suddenly decided to grant the ailing Simonovis house arrest, in what has been viewed as a gesture to the opposition that could help kick-start the stalled ‘peace dialogue’ between the opposition and the Maduro government. However, the decision was badly received by Asovic, which has called on the Maduro government to review it.

Simonovis was arrested in 2004, accused by the government of being responsible for the deaths of many of the 20 people killed during the 11 April 2002 revolt in Caracas and subsequent coup against Chávez. Simonovis was accused of instigating the violence, after he ordered officers to open fire against pro-government demonstrators. In 2009, local courts found him guilty of inciting violence and of direct responsibility for the deaths of at least two people. He was handed down a 30-year prison sentence, to be served at the Ramo Verde military prison on the outskirts of Caracas.

The political opposition has called for Simonovis to be released on the grounds that his trial was biased. The former police chief, whose health has suffered whilst in prison, has repeatedly requested to be put under house arrest - to no avail. Unexpectedly, on 20 September the supreme court (TSJ) suddenly granted Simonovis his request. Confounding initial expectations that the government would appeal the decision, Interior Minister Miguel Rodríguez swiftly came out and said that the TSJ decision would be “respected” by the government, as it was based on humanitarian grounds. The opposition, which suspended a tentative dialogue with the Maduro government in May over its failure to meet some conditions, including the release of all political prisoners, welcomed the decision.

The decision - which is only temporary as Simonovis must return to prison once his health improves - has not been welcomed in Chavista circles. The first vice-president of the national assembly, Darío Vivas, grumbled Simonovis “has not shown a drop of repentance, or asked for the forgiveness of the Venezuelan people for the pain he caused”. This was echoed in a public statement read out by the Asovic president, Yesenia Fuentes. Describing the decision as a “slap in the face” to all the victims of the 2002 coup, Fuentes complained that the decision was taken without consulting Asovic. Calling on the Maduro government to provide a full explanation, Fuentes also demanded that the government pay full compensation to the Asovic members, as has been promised.

The government's decision not to challenge the TSJ’s decision has led local analysts to speculate that it may be part of efforts to remove some of the obstacles holding up the dialogue with the opposition, at a time of rapidly waning support for Maduro. However, the beleaguered Maduro cannot really afford to lose support among Chavista ranks either.

• On 24 September Jesús (‘Chuo’) Torrealba was elected the new executive secretary of the main opposition coalition, Mesa de la Unidad Democratica (MUD, comprising 27 political groups). Torrealba’s left-wing background and his longtime focus on social issues in local neighbourhoods is clearly designed for maximum appeal to Chavista voters. He said he would stage an outdoor rally on 4 October to start mobilising the public. "We're going to build a better world and take on this regime. We're building a new pact between the political leadership and the poor", he declared. Local opposition press sources suggested that the radical wing of the MUD, led by the imprisoned Leopoldo López, provided the sole vote against Torrealba. The López wing engineered the removal of the MUD’s former executive secretary, Ramón Guillermo Aveledo, a moderate, who resigned in July.