On February 2 the
Venezuelan government declared the naval attaché to the U.S. embassy in Venezuela – Captain John Correa – persona non grata, a diplomatic term which strips him of any
diplomatic recognition. He was accused of spying and ordered to leave the
country immediately.During a nationally
televised speech the same day, President Hugo Chavez said Correa had been
meeting with “traitorous Venezuelan military personnel”.
“We warn the
imperialist government of the United
States that if your military continues to do
what that captain was doing, the next step will be to kick out the entire [20
member] military mission,” he said. Chavez also said that while there are 1,000
patriots for every traitor in the Venezuelan military, it was still important
to rid the country’s armed forces of any support for “imperialist military doctrine”.His government will seek the maximum sentence
of 30 years in prison for those found guilty of spying.Chavez speculated that Correa’s actions were
motivated by a desire on the part of the Americans to see him overthrown by any
means necessary.
In 2002,
officials with the U.S.
embassy were linked to the failed right-wing coup against Chavez organized by
members of Venezuela’s
economic elite.The coup organizers were
unable to win any broad support in the military and were forced to back down
within hours and Chavez went on to win a national referendum and a second
presidential election.
Chavez’ comments
came a week after Vice-President Jose Vicente Rangel told reporters that 25
Venezuelan military personnel were suspected of handing over state secrets to
the U.S.
through Correa. The information handed over by Correa is reported to include
personal details of high-ranking soldiers in the Venezuelan army, movements of
the army and navy, naval missile practice and details about the operations of
the country’s reservists.
A spokesperson
for the U.S. State Department, Sean McCormack, when asked by reporters whether
Correa was guilty as charged, responded “I would say only that he was
performing his duties as a naval attaché.”The U.S. retaliated
immediately following Correa’s expulsion by declaring Jenny Figueredo, the
chief of staff to the Venezuelan ambassador in the U.S., persona non grata, without
charging her with engaging in any specific behaviour.