Alejandro Peña Esclusa
Encyclopedia
Alejandro Peña Esclusa is a Venezuelan politician, leader of the Venezuelan NGO Fuerza Solidaria (since May 2001) and president of the pan-Latin-American NGO UnoAmérica (since December 2008). A former member of the LaRouche movement
, in the 1980s he co-founded the Partido Laboral Venezolano (PLV, Venezuelan Labor Party) as the Venezuelan branch of LaRouche's International Caucus of Labor Committees, modelled on LaRouche's U.S. Labor Party
. He has twice run for the Presidency. He was a columnist for the newspapers Últimas Noticias
and Diario de Caracas (1988 to 1998), and has been a correspondent for Argentina's La Nueva Provincia
. He has campaigned against the Foro de São Paulo
(grouping of Latin American left parties) since the mid-1990s, and in 2008 set up UnoAmérica as its "ideological antithesis". He has opposed current Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez
since the mid-1990s.
In July 2010 Peña Esclusa was arrested on terrorism-related charges, after the Salvadoran Francisco Chávez Abarca (convicted in Cuba for his role in the 1997 Cuba hotel bombings
in December 2010) was arrested in Venezuela and according to the Venezuelan authorities labelled Peña Esclusa an accomplice in a plan to use violence to disrupt the September 2010 parliamentary elections
. Opposition groups say the arrest is for political reasons.
, the son of a Venezuelan Army General, Enrique Peña Briceño. He graduated in mechanical engineering
from the Universidad Simón Bolívar
in 1977, and in 1980 obtained a postgraduate degree in finance from the Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Administración
(IESA). In 1978 he won the national karate
championships, and in 1981 gained a civil aviation licence.
He married Indira Ramírez in 1989, and had three daughters.
's book Narcotráfico, S.A. ("Dope, Inc."), and by 1988 he was the leader of the Partido Laboral Venezolano (PLV, Venezuelan Labor Party), a party which he co-founded as the Venezuelan branch of LaRouche's International Caucus of Labor Committees, modelled on LaRouche's U.S. Labor Party
. According to Agencia Venezolana de Noticias he split with LaRouche in 1988, when LaRouche was imprisoned in the United States, while LaRouche's Executive Intelligence Review
dated the split to spring 1998, describing him as a "LaRouche movement
deserter" in 2009. Peña Esclusa himself dates the split to 1995. In 1997 the Stephen Roth Institute
wrote that "Anti-Semitic propaganda is also disseminated by the Partido Laboral Venezolano (Venezuela Workers' Party), an affiliate of the Lyndon LaRouche cult."
in a 1994 book. He published an article in 1995 attacking the Foro de São Paulo
, which Chávez' Fifth Republic Movement
joined that year. Peña Esclusa entered the Venezuelan presidential election, 1998
as a candidate for the Partido Laboral Venezolano (PLV), and was also a candidate on another occasion. Announcing his candidacy in July 1998, with Chavez already the front runner, he aimed to denounce Chavez and warn of the dangers of electing him. He received less than 0.1% of the vote. On 28 July 2000 Peña Esclusa formally accused Chávez of treason
, denouncing him to the Attorney General, which rejected the claim.
In May 2001 Peña Esclusa founded the NGO Fuerza Solidaria. This organization coined the slogan "no to cubanization", and organised a range of political protests against Chávez, including a demonstration in front of the Cuban embassy. In February 2002 Peña Esclusa, on behalf of Fuerza Solidaria, called for the general strike being organised to be indefinite, until Chávez resigned. Following the mass demonstration of April 11, 2002, and the 2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt that resulted, he was briefly detained on suspicion of links to military officers allegedly involved. According to the Latin American Weekly Report, Esclusa was arrested and questioned for the 17 September 2002 publication of newspaper advertisements, sponsored by Fuerza Solidaria, urging the armed forces to "'restore constitutional order'" in the country by overthrowing President Chavez. Peña Esclusa himself has expressly denounced violence as a method, and said that he does not believe that violence can end Hugo Chávez's government, but that a peaceful mass movement can.
Traveling North and South America as well as Europe, Peña Esclusa has claimed that Chávez was allowing Russia and Iran to use Venezuela as a base for strategic bombers, submarines, warships, and long range missiles capable of reaching the United States. He has also alleged crimes against humanity perpetrated by the regime, and links with terrorist groups.
On March 23, 2010, Peña Esclusa's strong opposition to the Venezuelan president was lauded by the Alabama state legislature, which took up a resolution commending his actions.
) of president Manuel Zelaya
in Honduras
, which involved Zelaya being arrested by the military acting on orders by the Supreme Court, removed from office and expelled from the country, and replaced by the person the constitution indicated as his successor, in this case the Speaker of the House Roberto Micheletti
, as interim president. Peña Esclusa endorsed as constitutional the deposing of Zelaya, and said that "Only a process similar to that of Honduras can rescue democracy and freedom in Venezuela". He also said that “Venezuelans ought to be inspired by the Honduran model, and strive for a change of government as soon as possible, through peaceful, democratic, and constitutional means--and not just electoral--to avoid a national tragedy".
In August 2009, Peña Esclusa formally accused Venezuela's president Hugo Chávez before the International Criminal Court
of crimes against humanity for his support of Manuel Zelaya
's attempt to hold a referendum on whether to hold a Constituting Constitutional Convention in Honduras
(which sparked the 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis
), and for threatening to invade the country to reinstall Zelaya after he was deposed
on June 28, 2009.
In November 2009 he was decorated with the "José Cecilio del Valle" medal by President Micheletti. Others decorated on that occasion were Armando Valladares
and Juan Dabdoub Giacoman, who also had expressed public support for Honduras.
In June 2009, Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Relations, Nicolás Maduro
, described Peña Esclusa as a man that "has spent his life tied to the CIA and numerous violent movements including the 2002 military coup [against president Hugo Chávez] and a member of violent right-wing groups that moved about Central America for long periods alongside Luis Posada Carriles
, a terrorist protected by the North American justice system and wanted in Venezuela."
in December 2010) was arrested in Venezuela and according to the Venezuelan authorities named Peña Esclusa an accomplice in a plan to use violence to disrupt the September 2010 parliamentary elections
. In response Peña Esclusa posted a video online denying the accusations and said that he expected to be arrested within a day. That evening he was arrested in his home by Venezuela's political police SEBIN for possession of explosives. Peña Esclusa's wife claimed that search officers planted explosives in the desk of the couple's 8-year old daughter. His lawyer, Alfredo Romero, accused the 13 members of the political police of violating his client's constitutional rights at the search and arrest by not allowing his lawyer to be present or to inspect the search order. Luis Cabrera, the presiding judge, ruled that the presence of the lawyer could lead to impunity
, to which Romero commented, "This court has declared dead the right to defense in Venezuela."
Peña Esclusa was denied bail on July 15, 2010. The preliminary hearings were held January 27, 2011, and on February 7 the defense appealed. The defense has consistently objected to the fact that the court has denied every request to order the presence of the star witness of the prosecutor for cross-examination (Francisco Chávez Abarca was sent to Cuba just before Peña Esclusa's arrest, in accordance with an Interpol
red notice). The government only publishes their verdict, and never the appeal from the defense that they are denying, why the defense position is never reported objectively in official documents or state-controlled media. However, FuerzaSolidaria has published Peña Esclusa's petition in court, in which he accused the judge of acting politically, and the prosecutor of lying about statements allegedly made by Chávez Abarca.
On March 29, 2011, Indira de Peña Esclusa and other wives of prisoners of Chávez petitioned the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
that their husbands should be recognized as political prisoners by OAS
. The arrest has been denounced as being made on false charges for political reasons. Opposition deputy María Corina Machado
has declared that he is a prisoner due to his opinions. In a letter dated 2011-01-17, nine senators from Bolivia wrote to Hugo Chavez and demanded that he release Alejandro Peña Esclusa, whom they describe as being imprisoned illegally in order to silence him, and that he the time he was imprisoned was heading a group of lawyers who were preparing a prosecution of Hugo Chávez for Crimes Against Humanity. Cardinal Urosa of the Catholic Church in Venezuela has repeatedly declared that he is certain that Peña Esclusa is innocent and demanded his release.
Peña Esclusa was released from prison July 20, 2011.
LaRouche movement
The LaRouche movement is an international political and cultural network that promotes Lyndon LaRouche and his ideas. It has included scores of organizations and companies around the world. Their activities include campaigning, private intelligence gathering, and publishing numerous periodicals,...
, in the 1980s he co-founded the Partido Laboral Venezolano (PLV, Venezuelan Labor Party) as the Venezuelan branch of LaRouche's International Caucus of Labor Committees, modelled on LaRouche's U.S. Labor Party
U.S. Labor Party
The U.S. Labor Party was a political party formed in 1973 by the National Caucus of Labor Committees . It served as a vehicle for Lyndon LaRouche to run for President of the United States in 1976, but it also sponsored many candidates for local offices and Congressional and Senate seats between...
. He has twice run for the Presidency. He was a columnist for the newspapers Últimas Noticias
Últimas Noticias
Últimas Noticias is the highest selling daily newspaper in Venezuela. It was founded in Caracas in 1941 after the pro-freedom measures implemented by President Medina Angarita.In 2008 it publishes 170,000 copies a day ....
and Diario de Caracas (1988 to 1998), and has been a correspondent for Argentina's La Nueva Provincia
La Nueva Provincia
La Nueva Provincia is a local newspaper published in Bahía Blanca, Argentina.The news daily was founded by Enrique Julio on August 1, 1898. Closely associated with the nation's agricultural interests, it was shuttered by President Juan Perón in 1950...
. He has campaigned against the Foro de São Paulo
Foro de São Paulo
Foro de São Paulo is a conference of left-leaning political parties and other organizations from Latin America and the Caribbean. It was launched by the Workers' Party of Brazil in 1990 in the city of São Paulo....
(grouping of Latin American left parties) since the mid-1990s, and in 2008 set up UnoAmérica as its "ideological antithesis". He has opposed current Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez
Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...
since the mid-1990s.
In July 2010 Peña Esclusa was arrested on terrorism-related charges, after the Salvadoran Francisco Chávez Abarca (convicted in Cuba for his role in the 1997 Cuba hotel bombings
1997 Cuba hotel bombings
The 1997 Cuba hotel bombings were a series of bombings of Cuban hotels, which resulted in the death of an Italian tourist, Fabio di Celmo. Targets included the Hotel Capri, Hotel Nacional de Cuba, and the Meliá Cohiba Hotel. The Cuban-born Venezuelan Luis Posada Carriles admitted organising the...
in December 2010) was arrested in Venezuela and according to the Venezuelan authorities labelled Peña Esclusa an accomplice in a plan to use violence to disrupt the September 2010 parliamentary elections
Venezuelan parliamentary election, 2010
The 2010 parliamentary election in Venezuela took place on 26 September 2010 to elect the 165 deputies to the National Assembly. Venezuelan opposition parties, which had boycotted the previous election, thus allowing the governing United Socialist Party of Venezuela to gain a two-thirds...
. Opposition groups say the arrest is for political reasons.
Early life
Peña Esclusa was born 3 July 1954 in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, the son of a Venezuelan Army General, Enrique Peña Briceño. He graduated in mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is a discipline of engineering that applies the principles of physics and materials science for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. It is the branch of engineering that involves the production and usage of heat and mechanical power for the...
from the Universidad Simón Bolívar
Universidad Simón Bolívar
Simón Bolívar University or USB, is a public institution located in Miranda State, Venezuela with scientific and technological orientation....
in 1977, and in 1980 obtained a postgraduate degree in finance from the Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Administración
Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Administración
The Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Administración is a private non-profit Venezuelan business school with campuses in Caracas, Maracaibo and Valencia. It was founded in 1965...
(IESA). In 1978 he won the national karate
Karate
is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
championships, and in 1981 gained a civil aviation licence.
He married Indira Ramírez in 1989, and had three daughters.
Early years
Peña Esclusa dates his political awakening to 1984, when he investigated the beliefs of various political parties with the aim of joining one, but found none satisfactory. In 1985 he helped distribute Lyndon LaRoucheLyndon LaRouche
Lyndon Hermyle LaRouche, Jr. is an American political activist and founder of a network of political committees, parties, and publications known collectively as the LaRouche movement...
's book Narcotráfico, S.A. ("Dope, Inc."), and by 1988 he was the leader of the Partido Laboral Venezolano (PLV, Venezuelan Labor Party), a party which he co-founded as the Venezuelan branch of LaRouche's International Caucus of Labor Committees, modelled on LaRouche's U.S. Labor Party
U.S. Labor Party
The U.S. Labor Party was a political party formed in 1973 by the National Caucus of Labor Committees . It served as a vehicle for Lyndon LaRouche to run for President of the United States in 1976, but it also sponsored many candidates for local offices and Congressional and Senate seats between...
. According to Agencia Venezolana de Noticias he split with LaRouche in 1988, when LaRouche was imprisoned in the United States, while LaRouche's Executive Intelligence Review
Executive Intelligence Review
Executive Intelligence Review is a weekly newsmagazine founded in 1974 by the American political activist Lyndon LaRouche. Based in Leesburg, Virginia, it maintains offices in a number of countries, according to its masthead, including Wiesbaden, Berlin, Copenhagen, Paris, Melbourne, and Mexico City...
dated the split to spring 1998, describing him as a "LaRouche movement
LaRouche movement
The LaRouche movement is an international political and cultural network that promotes Lyndon LaRouche and his ideas. It has included scores of organizations and companies around the world. Their activities include campaigning, private intelligence gathering, and publishing numerous periodicals,...
deserter" in 2009. Peña Esclusa himself dates the split to 1995. In 1997 the Stephen Roth Institute
Stephen Roth Institute
The Stephen Roth Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism and Racism is a research institute at Tel Aviv University in Israel. It is a resource for information, provides a forum for academic discussion, and fosters research on issues concerning antisemitic and racist theories and...
wrote that "Anti-Semitic propaganda is also disseminated by the Partido Laboral Venezolano (Venezuela Workers' Party), an affiliate of the Lyndon LaRouche cult."
Opposition to Chávez
According to his wife, Alejandro Peña Esclusa has been an opponent of Hugo Chávez ever since he denounced Chávez for being a front man for Fidel CastroFidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
in a 1994 book. He published an article in 1995 attacking the Foro de São Paulo
Foro de São Paulo
Foro de São Paulo is a conference of left-leaning political parties and other organizations from Latin America and the Caribbean. It was launched by the Workers' Party of Brazil in 1990 in the city of São Paulo....
, which Chávez' Fifth Republic Movement
Fifth Republic Movement
The Fifth Republic Movement was a left-wing, Socialist political party in Venezuela. It was founded in July 1997, following a national congress of the Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement-200, to support the candidacy of Hugo Chávez, the current President of Venezuela, in the Venezuelan presidential...
joined that year. Peña Esclusa entered the Venezuelan presidential election, 1998
Venezuelan presidential election, 1998
In the Venezuelan presidential election of 1998, Hugo Chávez was elected to his first term as President of Venezuela with the largest percentage of the popular vote in four decades...
as a candidate for the Partido Laboral Venezolano (PLV), and was also a candidate on another occasion. Announcing his candidacy in July 1998, with Chavez already the front runner, he aimed to denounce Chavez and warn of the dangers of electing him. He received less than 0.1% of the vote. On 28 July 2000 Peña Esclusa formally accused Chávez of treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
, denouncing him to the Attorney General, which rejected the claim.
In May 2001 Peña Esclusa founded the NGO Fuerza Solidaria. This organization coined the slogan "no to cubanization", and organised a range of political protests against Chávez, including a demonstration in front of the Cuban embassy. In February 2002 Peña Esclusa, on behalf of Fuerza Solidaria, called for the general strike being organised to be indefinite, until Chávez resigned. Following the mass demonstration of April 11, 2002, and the 2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt that resulted, he was briefly detained on suspicion of links to military officers allegedly involved. According to the Latin American Weekly Report, Esclusa was arrested and questioned for the 17 September 2002 publication of newspaper advertisements, sponsored by Fuerza Solidaria, urging the armed forces to "'restore constitutional order'" in the country by overthrowing President Chavez. Peña Esclusa himself has expressly denounced violence as a method, and said that he does not believe that violence can end Hugo Chávez's government, but that a peaceful mass movement can.
Traveling North and South America as well as Europe, Peña Esclusa has claimed that Chávez was allowing Russia and Iran to use Venezuela as a base for strategic bombers, submarines, warships, and long range missiles capable of reaching the United States. He has also alleged crimes against humanity perpetrated by the regime, and links with terrorist groups.
On March 23, 2010, Peña Esclusa's strong opposition to the Venezuelan president was lauded by the Alabama state legislature, which took up a resolution commending his actions.
UnoAmerica
In December 2008 Peña Esclusa co-founded UnoAmerica as "the ideological antithesis of the Sao Paulo Forum", becoming its President. UnoAmerica describes itself as "a confederation of NGOs" working to combat Latin American left parties connected to the Sao Paulo Forum, which it accuses of "introduc[ing] Marxist ideological models that divide our societies into factions based on class and race, promoting hate, violence and anarchy" and, in some cases, of "destroying democracy from within".Support for Honduras interim government
UnoAmerica was one of the few organizations that endorsed as constitutional the 2009 "deposing" (widely described as the 2009 Honduran coup d'état2009 Honduran coup d'état
The 2009 Honduran coup d'état, part of the 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, occurred when the Honduran Army ousted President Manuel Zelaya and sent him into exile on June 28, 2009. It was prompted by his attempts to schedule a non binding poll on holding a referendum about convening a...
) of president Manuel Zelaya
Manuel Zelaya
José Manuel Zelaya Rosales is a politician who was President of Honduras from January 27, 2006 until June 28, 2009. The eldest son of a wealthy businessman, he inherited his father's nickname "Mel," and, before entering politics, was involved in his family's logging and timber businesses.Elected...
in Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
, which involved Zelaya being arrested by the military acting on orders by the Supreme Court, removed from office and expelled from the country, and replaced by the person the constitution indicated as his successor, in this case the Speaker of the House Roberto Micheletti
Roberto Micheletti
Roberto Micheletti Baín is a former de facto president of Honduras who served as a result of the 2009 coup d'état. The Honduran military was ordered by the Supreme Court to forcefully detain President Manuel Zelaya once the Court stated he was violating the Honduran constitution; Zelaya was exiled...
, as interim president. Peña Esclusa endorsed as constitutional the deposing of Zelaya, and said that "Only a process similar to that of Honduras can rescue democracy and freedom in Venezuela". He also said that “Venezuelans ought to be inspired by the Honduran model, and strive for a change of government as soon as possible, through peaceful, democratic, and constitutional means--and not just electoral--to avoid a national tragedy".
In August 2009, Peña Esclusa formally accused Venezuela's president Hugo Chávez before the International Criminal Court
International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court is a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression .It came into being on 1 July 2002—the date its founding treaty, the Rome Statute of the...
of crimes against humanity for his support of Manuel Zelaya
Manuel Zelaya
José Manuel Zelaya Rosales is a politician who was President of Honduras from January 27, 2006 until June 28, 2009. The eldest son of a wealthy businessman, he inherited his father's nickname "Mel," and, before entering politics, was involved in his family's logging and timber businesses.Elected...
's attempt to hold a referendum on whether to hold a Constituting Constitutional Convention in Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
(which sparked the 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis
2009 Honduran constitutional crisis
The 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis was a political dispute over plans to rewrite the Constitution of Honduras, which culminated in a coup d'état against Honduran President Manuel Zelaya by the Honduran military...
), and for threatening to invade the country to reinstall Zelaya after he was deposed
2009 Honduran coup d'état
The 2009 Honduran coup d'état, part of the 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, occurred when the Honduran Army ousted President Manuel Zelaya and sent him into exile on June 28, 2009. It was prompted by his attempts to schedule a non binding poll on holding a referendum about convening a...
on June 28, 2009.
In November 2009 he was decorated with the "José Cecilio del Valle" medal by President Micheletti. Others decorated on that occasion were Armando Valladares
Armando Valladares
Armando Valladares is a former prisoner in Cuba turned United States ambassador to the United Nations.-Political prisoner:Valladares was a Cuban Postal Bank employee . He was arrested when he refused to display a sign on his desk that promoted communism...
and Juan Dabdoub Giacoman, who also had expressed public support for Honduras.
Controversies
According to the website of the Venezuelan Ministry of Communications & Information, Peña Esclusa was the head of a radical conservative and anti-communist Christian sect, the Tradición, Familia y Propiedad (TFP) which was banned in 1984 when plans were discovered to murder Pope John Paul II during a visit to Venezuela. Peña Esclusa denies any links with TFP.In June 2009, Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Relations, Nicolás Maduro
Nicolás Maduro
Nicolás Maduro Moros is a Venezuelan politician who was appointed foreign minister by President Hugo Chávez on 9 August 2006.- Biography :...
, described Peña Esclusa as a man that "has spent his life tied to the CIA and numerous violent movements including the 2002 military coup [against president Hugo Chávez] and a member of violent right-wing groups that moved about Central America for long periods alongside Luis Posada Carriles
Luis Posada Carriles
Luis Clemente Faustino Posada Carriles is a Cuban-born Venezuelan anti-communist and former Central Intelligence Agency agent....
, a terrorist protected by the North American justice system and wanted in Venezuela."
2010 Arrest on Terrorism Charges
In early July 2010 the Salvadoran Francisco Chávez Abarca (convicted in Cuba for his role in the 1997 Cuba hotel bombings1997 Cuba hotel bombings
The 1997 Cuba hotel bombings were a series of bombings of Cuban hotels, which resulted in the death of an Italian tourist, Fabio di Celmo. Targets included the Hotel Capri, Hotel Nacional de Cuba, and the Meliá Cohiba Hotel. The Cuban-born Venezuelan Luis Posada Carriles admitted organising the...
in December 2010) was arrested in Venezuela and according to the Venezuelan authorities named Peña Esclusa an accomplice in a plan to use violence to disrupt the September 2010 parliamentary elections
Venezuelan parliamentary election, 2010
The 2010 parliamentary election in Venezuela took place on 26 September 2010 to elect the 165 deputies to the National Assembly. Venezuelan opposition parties, which had boycotted the previous election, thus allowing the governing United Socialist Party of Venezuela to gain a two-thirds...
. In response Peña Esclusa posted a video online denying the accusations and said that he expected to be arrested within a day. That evening he was arrested in his home by Venezuela's political police SEBIN for possession of explosives. Peña Esclusa's wife claimed that search officers planted explosives in the desk of the couple's 8-year old daughter. His lawyer, Alfredo Romero, accused the 13 members of the political police of violating his client's constitutional rights at the search and arrest by not allowing his lawyer to be present or to inspect the search order. Luis Cabrera, the presiding judge, ruled that the presence of the lawyer could lead to impunity
Impunity
Impunity means "exemption from punishment or loss or escape from fines". In the international law of human rights, it refers to the failure to bring perpetrators of human rights violations to justice and, as such, itself constitutes a denial of the victims' right to justice and redress...
, to which Romero commented, "This court has declared dead the right to defense in Venezuela."
Peña Esclusa was denied bail on July 15, 2010. The preliminary hearings were held January 27, 2011, and on February 7 the defense appealed. The defense has consistently objected to the fact that the court has denied every request to order the presence of the star witness of the prosecutor for cross-examination (Francisco Chávez Abarca was sent to Cuba just before Peña Esclusa's arrest, in accordance with an Interpol
Interpol
Interpol, whose full name is the International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL, is an organization facilitating international police cooperation...
red notice). The government only publishes their verdict, and never the appeal from the defense that they are denying, why the defense position is never reported objectively in official documents or state-controlled media. However, FuerzaSolidaria has published Peña Esclusa's petition in court, in which he accused the judge of acting politically, and the prosecutor of lying about statements allegedly made by Chávez Abarca.
On March 29, 2011, Indira de Peña Esclusa and other wives of prisoners of Chávez petitioned the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights is an autonomous organ of the Organization of American States .Along with the...
that their husbands should be recognized as political prisoners by OAS
OAS
OAS or Oas may refer to:* Organization of American States, an international organization of the Americas.* Ohio Auction School, an auction school in Ohio, USA.* Old Age Security, a social security payment available to most Canadians aged 65 or older....
. The arrest has been denounced as being made on false charges for political reasons. Opposition deputy María Corina Machado
María Corina Machado
María Corina Machado Parisca is a founder, former vice president, and former president of the Venezuelan volunteer civil organization Súmate, along with Alejandro Plaz....
has declared that he is a prisoner due to his opinions. In a letter dated 2011-01-17, nine senators from Bolivia wrote to Hugo Chavez and demanded that he release Alejandro Peña Esclusa, whom they describe as being imprisoned illegally in order to silence him, and that he the time he was imprisoned was heading a group of lawyers who were preparing a prosecution of Hugo Chávez for Crimes Against Humanity. Cardinal Urosa of the Catholic Church in Venezuela has repeatedly declared that he is certain that Peña Esclusa is innocent and demanded his release.
Peña Esclusa was released from prison July 20, 2011.
Books
- 350: Cómo salvar a Venezuela del castro-comunismo, Caracas: Ediciones Fuerza Productiva, June 2005
- El Continente de la Esperanza, Caracas: Ediciones Fuerza Productiva, April 2006 (in English as The Continent of Hope, September 2006)
- El Foro de São Paulo contra Álvaro Uribe, April 2008 (in English as The Foro de São Paulo: A Threat to Freedom in Latin America, Bogotá: Mary Montes Edition, February 2009)