Manuel Rosales - Corruption and Assassination Charges

Corruption and Assassination Charges

Rosales was re-elected Mayor of Maracaibo in the 2008 Venezuelan regional elections; according to the BBC, in "the campaign, Mr Chavez railed against him, threatening him with prison and accusing him of corruption and plotting to assassinate him". According to USA Today, Rosales characterized the allegations as an "electoral ploy to distract Venezuelans from pressing problems such as double-digit inflation and rampant crime".

Rosales was charged by the Venezuelan Attorney General with corruption in late 2008, accused of "misusing public funds" during his term as Governor of Zulia—charges which he denies. Prosecutors say he obtained $60,000 illicitly while he was governor. According to Rosales, a 2002–2004 investigation that "was closed for lack of evidence" was "'suddenly reopened by orders from above,' alluding to Chavez".

Rosales went into hiding in March 2009 when charges were filed, and failed to appear in court in April. On 22 April it was reported that he had sought political asylum in Peru. Interpol issued a "red notice" (requesting international cooperation in the apprehension of a suspect, with a view to enabling extradition proceedings) at Venezuela's request.

According to CNN, "ne of Rosales' lawyers noted that Chavez said publicly in October 2008, before Rosales was charged, that he wanted the mayor in prison." Rosales' supporters characterized the charges as a "political witch hunt". According to the BBC, "His decision to leave Venezuela is the latest development in a long-running feud with Mr Chavez." Venezuelan authorities deny that the charges are politically motivated.

On April 28, 2009, Venezuela withdrew its ambassador to Lima in response to Peru's decision to grant Rosales political asylum. Peruvian officials said the decision was part of their "long-standing commitment to international law"; Venezuelan officials called it a "mockery of international law, a strong blow to the fight against corruption and an offence to the people of Venezuela", saying that Rosales should have been detained and extradited.

The newspaper El Nuevo Herald reported in 2009 about allegations by Geovanny Velásquez Zambrano, a member of the Colombian paramilitary group Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia serving a 40-year prison term for paramilitary massacres, that Rosales met with Colombian paramilitaries in 1999 to plot the assassination of Chávez. Zambrano claims that he attended two meetings with Morales, in which Morales offered him and his subordinates US$ 25 million to kill Chávez. Rosales denies these allegations, saying they are a lie and that his passport documents that he was in Aruba during the time of the alleged meetings, saying "The only plan in which I have been involved to 'do away with' Chavez has been the electoral plan". Venezuela's Attorney General announced an investigation of these allegations in October 2009.

The 2009 Human Rights Watch report mentions Rosales as an example of political persecution, questioning the judicial procedures against him.