Venezuela's Basque Topic

Some news outlets have been covering the story about an ETA militant being employed by Hugo Chávez.

Here you have the note from The Herald Tribune:

Venezuelan official says no ETA member employed by Chavez's government

The Associated Press

Published: October 2, 2006

CARACAS, Venezuela Venezuela's justice minister on Monday denied that the government of President Hugo Chavez is employing any member of the Basque separatist group ETA.

Jesse Chacon's comments came after opposition candidate Manuel Rosales accused Chavez of flirting with terrorist groups, citing Spain's announcement last week that it was investigating reports that Arturo Cubillas — an alleged former ETA militant — has been working at Venezuela's agriculture ministry since October 2005.

"No member of ETA exists in the government," Chacon said Monday.

The justice minister told reporters that Cubillas has lived in Venezuela since 1989 with his Venezuelan-born wife, who works for the government.

He said Cubillas came to the country along with 10 other "people linked to the Basque problem that existed at that moment in Spain" as part of a diplomatic agreement that year between Venezuela, Spain and Algeria.

"They remade their lives here, and they don't have any arrest warrants out (for them) by any government," he said.

Chacon did not say whether Cubillas was employed by the government, however, adding that he doesn't "know who the agriculture ministry hires."

Spanish Justice Minister Juan Fernando Lopez Aguilar said last week that officials were investigating whether any criminal charges are still pending against Cubillas.

Earlier Monday, Rosales, used the revelation to attack Chavez, who he faces in Dec. 3 presidential elections.

"It's not right that we have a terrorist in the government," Rosales told a news conference. "We shouldn't be forging ties with groups that are identified with terrorism."

Chavez has rejected previous accusations that he sympathizes with terrorist groups and has strongly condemned terrorist attacks in Spain, the United States and elsewhere.

Cubillas is wanted by Spanish police for allegedly having belonged to an ETA commando unit blamed for three murders in 1984-85, according to the Spanish newspapers ABC and El Mundo. He was arrested in France in 1987, deported to Algeria and sent from there to Venezuela in 1989, along with 10 other ETA members, ABC said.

Cubillas was detained by Venezuelan police in 2002 but released when they determined that his name was not on a list of ETA members sought by Spain's National Court, the papers said.

Not much to add to what the venezuelan official already stated, only the little irony of Chavez getting this accusation even after he extradited three Basque political refugees right after he occupied the presidential office. And he did so knowing that there is torture in Spain and that Aznar was allegedly one of this sworn enemies.

Rome does not pay traitors Hugo!

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