Former Chavez Amigo Jailed

A onetime comrade, and current critic, of Venezuelan jefe Hugo Chavez has been sentenced to eight years in prison on charges of abuse of power, misappropriation of funds and violation of the military code while an officer in the army.

Chavez believes that retired Gen. Raul Isaias Baduel is a pawn of the right wing and a “traitor” to the country. Baduel believes Chavez’s socialism is “ruining the country.” —JCL

Los Angeles Times:

A retired general and onetime confidant of President Hugo Chavez has been sentenced to prison in a case that revealed the divisions in Venezuelan society.

The retired general, Raul Isaias Baduel, was sentenced to a nearly eight-year prison term Friday night by a military court on charges of abuse of power, misappropriation of funds and violation of the military code while he was an officer.

Baduel’s family criticized the verdict as unjust and said imprisoning him was a means of silencing a prominent critic. Baduel sent a Twitter message Saturday to family and friends saying, “God is with us and divine justice always present.”

Read more

Wikimedia Commons

Raul Isaias Baduel, former defense minister under Hugo Chavez, resigned in 2007 after a bitter falling out with the president.