Venezuela officers’ families seek release

Charges against imprisoned persons are based on circumstantial evidence, they say

Family members of Venezuelan army officers arrested in March for alleged conspiracy are demanding their release and denouncing procedural irregularities amid what critics call a growing purge of the crisis-stricken country’s armed forces.

The government of President Nicolas Maduro on March 2 arrested nine mostly high-ranking officers during a wave of rumours of coup plotting.

Family members of two of the imprisoned officers say the charges are based on circumstantial evidence, the case has violated due process, and the accused are innocent.

“We’re talking about a military professional who has had an impeccable career, who was in charge of a battalion, who was all of a sudden detained with no explanation,” said Leonela Difurt de Medina of her husband, Army Lieutenant Colonel Henry Medina. “The process has been plagued with irregularities from the start.” The Defense Ministry did not respond to requests for comment.

The nine are part of a group of some 60 military officers who are currently imprisoned, according to local rights group Penal Forum, a figure that includes former Interior Minister Miguel Rodriguez, who was arrested in March.

Despite frequently denouncing foiled military uprisings, the Maduro government in this instance has made no official pronouncements about the incident.

Coup rumours have been frequent in Venezuela since late socialist leader Hugo Chavez was briefly ousted in a 2002 putsch.