Madrid sends to Caracas indictment related to ETA training in Venezuela

[ChangoLoa]

The Spanish Foreign Ministry on Tuesday sent to Venezuela the indictment of National High Court Judge Ismael Moreno which reported that two members of ETA were trained in Venezuela by ETA deported activist Arturo Cubillas in July and August 2008.

The High Court sent the indictment to the Foreign Ministry, which forwarded the document to the Embassy of Spain in Caracas for delivery to Venezuelan authorities, said sources with the Foreign Ministry, as quoted by Efe.

The Foreign Ministry would not specify whether, in addition to the text of the indictment, the judge is making a request to deepen research into the training of members of ETA in Venezuela.

The indictment, disclosed on Monday, claims that Cubillas, deported from Algeria to Venezuela in 1989 and appointed in 2005 to a public office by the Government of Hugo Chávez, gave training courses in July and August 2008 to also suspected ETA members Javier Atristain Gorosabel and Juan Carlos Besance Zugasti.

Both terrorists were arrested last Wednesday in Guipúzcoa (Basque Country, northern Spain), were advised that they would be put in jail after testifying before the judge.

Upon learning the contents of the indictment, the Spanish Foreign Ministry asked for information from the Venezuelan government.

Subsequently, Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez read a statement denying any link between his government and ETA. He claimed that no credibility should be provided to "two vicious criminals" of ETA.

However, The Spanish National Court on Tuesday gave "full credibility" to the statements before the Civil Guard of Besance and Atristain, who said that they were trained in weapons and explosives handling in Venezuela.

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Concerning ETA related affairs, the PSOE can't look weak in front of the PP's position. Very delicate to handle. Spain knows that Chavez has no sympathy for ETA but, at the same time, they know that the basque organization does have some contacts inside the Venezuelan administration.

Chavez could say he'll start an investigation instead of automatically rejecting any possible internal failure.

[bherrera]

1. Starting an investigation may be a good solution

But the Partido Popular is going to make fun of the Socialists if the Chavez government doesn't behave properly. The Venezuelan ambassador already insulted Spain when he said the two men may have been tortured. This didn't make people happy here. The Chavez government has a tendency to have people who lack diplomatic skills, they use coarse language, and don't understand other nations don't really have to accept their insults. And we don't like to be blown up by ETA, so they need to act.

[EFerrari]

2. Basque prisoners have been tortured in Spain in the past.

There is no reason for people to be happy about that.

[bherrera]

3. When where they tortured in the past?

I didn't know that. If they did it, it is reprehensible. But were they tortured under a Socialist government? Or was it under the evil doers of the Partido Popular?

[Bacchus39]

6. ask that poster to provide evidence

you won't get a response other than perhaps: LOL

[ChangoLoa]

4. Of course not but with the current Spanish govt it sounds like an insult to mention torture

Don't you think?

[bherrera]

5. I don't know what you mean

Can't understand what you wrote. I searched human rights watch and other sites, did not find anything about torture in Spain, I did find many claims of torture by ETA prisoners, some posted in communist web sites. The communists sympathize with ETA the same way they sympathize with FARC and other terrorist groups.

I am prone to think this government is too smart to torture ETA prisoners, in spite of what Bush and his evil bunch said, torture harms the torturer more than the tortured. And of course it is not ethical.

[ChangoLoa]

7. I mean that we could have talked about torture under Franco but not nowadays. nt