Ex-Supreme Court justice says Venezuela manipulates courts

[Zorro]

Source: Reuters

A Venezuelan Supreme Court judge who was removed from his post last month for assisting a drug trafficker has accused President Hugo Chavez's leftist government of systematically manipulating the courts, including meddling in drug cases.

Eladio Aponte fled two weeks ago to Costa Rica, where he contacted officials of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and was flown to the United States, a Costa Rican official told Reuters.

"It's very corrupt at every single level. There's a lot of manipulation," Aponte said in an interview taped in Costa Rica by Miami-based online TV channel Soi TV and broadcast on Wednesday in Venezuela by an opposition television station.

The Chavez government accused the DEA of picking up a fugitive from Venezuelan justice to use him as a political tool to attack it. DEA representatives in Miami and Washington declined to comment.


Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/ex-supreme-court-justice-says-venezuela-manipulates-courts-211142269.html

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Maduro appears to be sounding off quite a bit lately.

I sense he's positioning himself to be Hugo's replacement if Chavez doesn't make it to the elections.

[Confusious]

1. A Venezuelan Supreme Court judge

who was removed from his post last month for assisting a drug trafficker.

Bitter and stupid, "party of one!"

This would have more weight if he said it BEFORE he helped a drug trafficker.

[Zax2me]

2. Who said he helped a drug trafficker?

Oh, Hugo!
It must be true then.

[frylock]

6. chavez haters will grasp at any straw..

so yeah, go right ahead and believe this guy if you want.

[ChangoLoa]

20. A drug trafficker who financed Chavez's campaign and fought to short-circuit

the general strike against his govt.

[Proletariatprincess]

8. yeah, but...but Hugo Chavez is a Commie!

Any enemy of Chavez is, of course, above all reproach and we must all believe every world he says.

[unkachuck]

3. "...removed from his post last month for assisting a drug trafficker..."

....sour grapes....the guy's a criminal....

[ducduc]

5. Alleged is the word you are looking for

And the "crime" is authorizing an ID card to a man. Hardly the acts of a master criminal.

[nanabugg]

4. The courts are probably much improved. The RW manipulates the courts here. nt

[Marksman_91]

7. lol. I can't believe you guys are that naive...

I'm venezuelan myself, and I assure you, Chavez and his band of delinquents have bought off pretty much all major institutions of the government, including the Supreme Court and the National Electoral Council. While corruption may have existed in past governments, they are NOTHING compared to the level of corruption that exists today under Chavez's regime.

[Bacchus4.0]

12. thank you. his statements actually are not surprising at all to some of us n/t

s

[ducduc]

13. I am always surprised at the adulation bestowed upon Hugo Chavez

His shutting down dissident TV stations is lauded as a committment to the legislative process. His countries loss of doctors and other educated professionals is seen as a victory for the proletariat. I can think of no other political figure that has engendered such obeisance from people that support his "cause".

[sofa king]

14. When I was in Caracas, long ago...

...I saw the Chief of Police's home. He made about $40K a year, but lived in an enormous multimillion-dollar mansion, thanks to all the illicit business he conducted. I was told at the time that he made a good chunk of his money by taking payments to not patrol neighborhoods in Caracas, where security was instead overseen by self-appointed armed guards who wouldn't shake down the neighborhood as much.

That allowed the people of those neighborhoods to steal water and power and occasionally prevent landlords from coming in to collect the rent, which in turn allowed allowed some of the luckier neighborhoods to buy a flatbed truck to get everyone--and I'm talking 15-30 people at a time to work in the mornings. One of the nicer places to live was an abandoned soccer stadium which Venezuela did not have the resources to complete, or to tear down, or to police.

That Chief of Police, and all the other corrupt public officials who comprised the oligarchy of pre-Chavez Venezuela, including its bought Supreme Court, opened the door for Hugo Chavez by driving the vast majority of Venezuelans down to a level of poverty where the government itself--representing only the interests of the wealthy--was the primary enemy. Then, with George Bush's backing, they turned to stealing elections and attempted coups to maintain control. And of course failed.

The former oppressors of the people are lucky to still be alive after what they did and continue to do. Are you really telling me that the situation has declined since 1985? Because I find that very hard to believe.

[bitchkitty]

21. But, but, but, but!

He's FROM Venezuela! I mean, he SAID so! How can you doubt someone who is FROM Venezuela?

</sarcasm>

[Tax Man]

9. unlike here -

where the scotus decides elections and legislation it has no business dealing with.

[COLGATE4]

10. Kind of a non-sequitur

[ducduc]

11. Know your logical fallacies

This one is a tu quoque, also known as an appeal to hypocrisy, and not a non sequitur.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tu_quoque

[COLGATE4]

16. Brilliant use of pseudo-intellectualism

The comment was on the poster's example which does not follow the argument made in the post being responded to. That is a classic non sequitur, not an [ad hominem] attack on the poster.

[ducduc]

17. Tu quoque

My comment was on the posters stating that the US is "equally corrupt" which is a tu quoque argument.

[COLGATE4]

19. Apologies. You were correct.

[Festivito]

15. Maybe he "manipulates courts" to be LESS corrupt, but that's manipulation.

Lot's of low-count posters on this topic. Welcome. I hope you all learn as much as I have around here.