Petkoff on the implications of Isaias Rodriguez cover up

Today's Tal Cual editorial marks a new high/low in the "Anderson affair".

Teodoro Petkoff wearily starts by remarking that once again he is obliged to write on the case. But this time his editorial goes further than ever. If he repeats the question as to who was Isaias Rodriguez protecting, covering for, Petkoff gives an answer: high ranking political players.

See, the argument advanced by the Anderson case prosecutors was basically that Anderson was examining some bankers money and political deals and thus it was justified to go after them to look for "suspects". Hence the arrest of the president of the Banco Federal who has since been totally exculpated.

However the situation since has changed dramatically. The star witness, Geovanny Vasquez, has been shown to have lied through and through, and some of the prosecutors and judges of the case have been shown to have manipulated the evidence, going as far as making outright forgeries. Three now are under investigation.

What this editorial brings is a higher bidding of what lies behind the case. This time Petkoff writes that such a cover up, such an amount of personal risk that Isaias took then, can only be justified if the people being protected were occupying high political ranking in the government. Indeed, the extent of the misdeed is now so impressive that we are allowed to wonder as to whether Isaias would risk so much for some banker's payoff funds.

With this editorial Petkoff raises the ante and takes a personal risk: he is telling to the government that the people that Isaias was/is protecting are in the close entourage of Chavez and that the murderers of Anderson worked for the Chavez administration, not for the opposition. He does not give names but this blog will fill in the blanks: at that time two of the blokes that had the most influence in the day to day managing of the country were Jose Vicente Rangel and Diosdado Cabello. Both have left the government since though still involved in partisan inner warfare. I do not mean to point my finger to them, but you had to be of a comparable importance in government to be put in a position of requesting the elimination of Anderson. The list of possible suspects include personnel from the finance ministry of the time, or even associates or underlings of powerful people who might have commandeered the murder as free agents. Also we could add that it was a time when fast fortunes were made by the "boliburgues" new elite who was closely linked to the government. One thing is certain: whoever ordered the murder of Anderson had powerful motives, and access to considerable means, and the ability to pressure Isaias Rodriguez effectively. That should narrow the list of probable suspects, and all, starting with Chavez himself, have great interest in clearing up things before someone eventually talks. Otherwise, even if they had nothing to do with the said assassination, they will also go down as favoring the cover up this late by delaying any investigation and trying to shield Isaias from the prosecution he so richly deserves.

The rottenness of the Chavez administration seems to have been much older than what we thought, and probably started a few days after Chavez reached office. But all eventually comes to light and right now the Anderson affair could reach the foundations of Chavez power. Dangerous, very dangerous!

PS: the editorial is here in Spanish. It is not good enough to deserve translation as the main idea is quite simple and better explained above for those late into the story.


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