By R. Renee Yaworsky
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

CARACAS, Venezuela—Venezuelan prosecutors issued an arrest warrant Friday for the owner of the country’s only remaining pro-opposition television channel.  Guillermo Zuloaga, the well-known president of the Globovision channel, has been critical of President Hugo Chavez and is a frequent target of authorities.

Zuloaga’s son was also named in the warrant. The charges against the father and son are linked to a 2009 case in which they were accused of improperly storing 24 new Toyotas.  Security officers could not find either man at Zuloaga’s home.

The senior Zuloaga, in addition to owning Globovision, owns and operates some car dealerships.  Authorities claim that he and his son were keeping the Toyotas off the market, waiting for prices to rise.  The charges had been dropped months ago, after prosecutors reviewed the case.  Zuloaga has denied any wrongdoing, speculating that the charges were an attempt to intimidate him.  He said the vehicles had been stored for safekeeping after one of his dealerships had been robbed.  The arrest warrant appeared just one week after President Chavez publicly lamented that Zuloaga remained free.

A statement from the prosecutors’ office on Friday read:  “The police are now working on capturing both citizens, who must be presented before a tribunal which will decide what legal measures to adopt.”  The statement went on to say that both Zuloagas could also be charged with conspiracy to commit a crime, which alone could carry a 2 to 5 year jail sentence.

Zuloaga is no stranger to conflicts with Venezuelan authorities.  In March, he was arrested and detained for hours after making “offensive and disrespectful” remarks about President Chavez on a television show.  Zuloaga had commented on his worries about restricted freedom of expression in Venezuela.

Earlier this year, the Organization of American States voiced concerns about Venezuela’s use of punitive power to silence opponents.  The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights issued a report stating that Chavez constrains freedom of expression and has restricted human rights.  The Commission urged Venezuela to avoid using any means to silence criticism or allegations against the government.  In response, President Chavez called the report “garbage.”

Alejandro Aguirre, the president of the Inter-American Press Association in Aruba, condemned the arrest warrant against Zuloaga.  “Once again it’s been shown that in Venezuela there’s no independence of powers, an essential value of democracy, since the judicial branch seems to act every time the president speaks or orders it,” Aguirre stated.

Globovision has been the only anti-Chavez television channel on air since a similar channel, RCTV, was forced off cable and satellite TV in January.

For more information, please see:

Voice of America-Venezuela Orders Arrest of Anti-Chavez TV Boss-12 June 2010

AP-TV channel owner ordered arrested in Venezuela-12 June 2010

Wall Street Journal-Venezuela Issues Arrest Warrant For Anti-Chavez Businessman-11 June 2010

By Patrick Vanderpool
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

Argentina’s lower legislative house, the Chamber of Deputies, recently approved a gay marriage bill.  By a 125-109 vote, the Chamber of Deputies passed a bill that not only allows gay marriage, but also allows gay couples to adopt children for the first time.

Argentina’s capital, Buenos Aires, has a strong reputation for being gay friendly.  Many bars, restaurants and other forms of entertainment specifically cater to homosexual clientele.  Support for a gay marriage bill has mounted since December of last year, when the first same-sex marriage was performed in Latin America.  Since that time, five same-sex couples have been married in Argentina by judges who authorized the ceremony.

The Chamber of Deputies was faced with a difficult decision: pass a bill that would allow civil unions, but would not allow adoptions; or take a bold step and allow equality across the board.  When asked why he supported the equal marriage bill, Agustin Rossi, member of Front for Victory Party, explained that a civil union option “would not have solved the problem” and that the legislature was focused on “equaling rights in the most genuine manner.”

Rossi went on to say that it is very unfair for those who have power to deny equality to those who do not.  Deputy Felipe Sola, who supported the bill, added that “love isn’t owned by heterosexuals.”

While there have previously been few same-sex marriages in Latin America, this victory marks the first time the body of a legislative branch has voted for same-sex marriages in Latin America.  If the bill passes Argentina’s upper house, Argentina would be the first Latin American country to allow full same-sex marriage and adoption rights.  Currently, Mexico City is the only place in Latin America where same-sex couples share the same marriage and adoption rights as heterosexual couples.

Maria Rachid, president of the Argentine Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals and Transsexuals, is optimistic that the bill has the necessary support to pass.  Deputies from President Fernandez’s faction, as well as members of groups on the left and right of the political spectrum, have all shown support for the bill.

For more information, please see:

Advocate.com – Argentina’s lower house OKs gay marriage bill – 5 May 2010

Bloomberg – Argentina’s Lower House Approves Gay Marriage Bill, Clarin Says – 5 May 2010

On Top Magazine – Argentina’s Lower House Approves Gay Marriage Bill – 5 May 2010

Reuters – Argentina’s lower house passes gay marriage bill – 5 May 2010

By Ricky Zamora
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BOGOTA, Colombia – The arbitrary detention of Venezuelan Judge, Maria Lourdes Afiuni, is a blow to judicial independence and the rule of both Venezuelan and International Law, says the Special Rapporteur on the Independence for Judges and Lawyers, Gabriela Carina Knaul de Albuquerque e Silva.

In December of 2009, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions declared the pre-trial detention of Venezuelan banker, Eligio Cedeño, to be arbitrary. Pursuant to the Working Group’s findings, Judge Afiuni conditionally released him. Minutes after issuing her decision, she was arrested for upholding Venezuelan and International Law.

Chavez’s government is seeking corruption charges against the Judge even though prosecutors explicitly stated that Afiuni had not received any payment or promise of payment. Afiuni remains in pre-trial detention.

The Venezuelan military police have also detained Cedeño’s defense lawyer and have held him under arrest without charges at intelligence headquarters.

“Afiuni’s decision to release Cedeño was expressly authorized in Article 264 of Venezuela’s Code of Criminal Procedure, which requires control judges to review periodically all pretrial preventative measures and grants judges complete discretion to modify pretrial detention for less stringent measures,” reports London-based attorney, Robert Amsterdam.

“Throwing a judge in prison for doing her job and issuing a decision that upholds fundamental rights protected under both Venezuelan and International Law is not something you’d expect in a functioning democracy,” said José Miguel Vivanco, Americas Director at Human Rights Watch. “Once again the Chavez Government has demonstrated its fundamental disregard for the principle of judicial independence,” he added.

Vivanco noted that Afiuni’s detention, taken together with the dramatic erosion of judicial independence in Venezuela under Chavez, makes it highly likely that she will receive an unfair trial

Human Rights Watch reports that on January 11th, the Inter American Commission on Human Rights ruled that Afiuni was entitled to protective measures and ordered Venezuela to be proactive in protecting Afiuni’s life and physical integrity and to transfer her to a safe place. The Venezuelan Government has yet to comply with the order.

In 2004, President Chavez and his supporters executed a political takeover of the Supreme Court. Since then, the Court has not been able to be a check on Executive power as it has since been comprised of government supporters. The result has been that the Court has failed to uphold fundamental rights of the Venezuelan constitution in cases involving government efforts to limit freedom of expression and association – fundamental rights.

For more information, please see:

HRW – Venezuela: Human Rights Watch Oral Statement Before the Human Rights Council – 03 June 2010

HRW – Venezuela: Stop Attacks on Judicial Independence – 08 April 2010

Robert Amsterdam – Judge Maria Afiuni’s Decision Cited UN Working Group Opinion – 15 December 2009

By Ricky Zamora
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

SÃO PAULO, Brazil – Gulnara Shahinian, UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery has called Brazil to strengthen efforts to close legal loopholes which effectively undermine incentives to discontinue the practice of slavery or forced labor in the nation’s rural areas.

During a recent visit to Brazil, Shahinian found that while the country has made efforts to abolish the practice of slavery or forced labor, the laws contain legal loopholes which some violators exploit, effectively allowing them to escapes criminal prosecution.

While civil penalties have been enforced, Shahinian found that “criminal penalties are more difficult to carry out due to jurisdictional conflicts and delays in the judicial system resulting in the lapsing of the statute of limitations.” She also noted that “although forced labor is considered a serious crime, first-time offenders might only face house arrest or community service.” Any incentive to discontinue such practices is effectively void.

During her visit, Shahinian met with many victims of forced labor in both rural and urban areas. In Brazil’s rural areas, forced labor is usually practiced in the cattle ranching and sugar can industries. There, the victims are typically males over the age of 15. In urban areas, on the other hand, forced labor is usually found in the garment industry and the victims include both males and females including many under the age of 15.

Shahinian reports that regardless of whether the forced labor occurs in rural or urban areas, the victims all endure the same working and living conditions and threats. Victims are forced to work long hours, with little or no pay, and are threatened with or subjected to physical, psychological, and sometimes sexual violence.

While in Brazil, the Rapporteur also met and held talks with local Government authorities, international organizations, and private sector and non-governmental organizations. She expressed her concerns over the effects of the legal loopholes and urged for the adoption of schemes that would counteract these loopholes. The largest and most basic concern is that those most vulnerable to forced labor can enjoy basic rights such as the right to food, water, and education.

Shahinian emphasized that “the strongest message that the Brazilian Government can send to Brazilians to show that the crime of slavery will not go unpunished is to pass the constitutional amendment which would allow for the expropriation of land where forced labor is used.” She added that the passage of such an amendment “will show that Brazil is indeed strongly committed to fighting slavery.”

For more information, please see:

Latin American Herald Tribune – UN Official: Slavery Continues in Brazil Despite Government Efforts – 01 June 2010

NewKerala – Brazil: UN Urges Efforts to Fight Slavery – 30 May 2010

UN News Centre – Brazil: UN Rights Expert Urges Stepped Up Efforts to Fight Slavery – 29 May 2010

By R. Renee Yaworsky
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Five Argentine ex-military officials have gone to trial, accused of human rights abuses and the deaths of 65 people under a clandestine co-operative by several South American dictatorships. Operation Condor, which operated between 1976 and 1983, was an effort to eliminate dissidents seeking refuge in neighboring countries.  There are hopes that the trial will bring to light the secrets of the notorious Automotores Orletti torture center, one of many similar prisons used by the military dictatorship.

The Automotores Orletti, nicknamed “the garden” by the military, appeared as an auto-body shop in a popular middle-class neighborhood of Buenos Aires.  But behind its metal garage door, bound, blindfolded prisoners were held alongside car parts and engines that ran to mask their screams.  Prisoners were interrogated and tortured, given electrical shocks and submerged headfirst in water.

Rodolfo Yanzon, a human rights attorney representing the plaintiffs, said, “This trial is even more important since the clandestine center was used by intelligence services of other Latin American countries, and people from those countries were detained there.”  Among the 200-plus people held at Automotores Orletti were Argentines, Uruguayans, Chileans, Paraguayans, Bolivians and Cubans.  John Dinges, author of “The Condor Years,” estimated that only 10 percent of them survived.  Dinges explained that Orletti “was the place that housed the international prisoners, those who were detained using the international network of Condor.”

A prosecutor described what took place in the secret prison as “calculated and planned and amounted to a death sentence.”  The center was shut down after two Mexicans escaped, grabbing a firearm and firing at guards.  In 2008, the center was converted into a museum.

Those charged on Thursday were Raul Guglielminetti, Ruben Visuara, Eduardo Cabanillas, Nestor Guillamondegui, Honorio Martinez Ruiz, and Eduardo Ruffo.  They were charged with illegal detention, torture and the killing of 65 people.  Guillamondegui was excused from the trial because of bad health.  Court officials said his health would be monitored to determine if he would face trial later.

Operation Condor was a coordinated repression by South American dictatorships against left-wing activists.  Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Brazil, Bolivia and Uruguay all participated.  Rights activists say that between 1976 and 1983, 30,000 people were killed or disappeared under the Argentine dictatorship.

The trial, expected to last months, reflects Argentina’s effort to resolve crimes of the 1976-1983 military junta.

For more information, please see:

BBC-New ‘Operation Condor’ trial starts in Argentina – 4 June 2010

AP-Argentina court opens dirty war torture garage trial – 3 June 2010

Nine MSN-Argentines face trial for Condor deaths – 3 June 2010