The Miami Herald
A little-noticed drama unfolding in a tiny courtroom at Miami-Dade's
Krome detention center provides a small window into the political
turmoil roiling Venezuela.
It's the asylum case of Jose Antonio Colina and German
Rodolfo Varela,
two former Venezuelan military officers accused of bombing the Spanish
Embassy and Colombian Consulate in Caracas last year.
On the surface, they share much in common. But they are strikingly
different. And it's those differences that confound traditional
perceptions of the Venezuelan scene.
Both are former lieutenants in the Venezuelan National Guard. Both
broke with President Hugo Chavez. Both joined thousands of anti-Chavez
protesters at Plaza Francia de Altamira, a public square in a wealthy
neighborhood of Caracas. Both fled Venezuela after being charged with
blowing up the diplomatic missions.
DIFFERENT ORIGINS
But that's where the similarities end.
Colina, son of a retired municipal worker and a schoolteacher, comes
from a poor family in one of the most populous shanty towns that cover
the hillsides of western Caracas -- areas widely perceived as Chavez
strongholds.
Varela comes from a family of privilege and power, whose bastions are
largely in the wealthy eastern neighborhoods of Caracas.
Varela's father, a retired general, is a former commander of the
Venezuelan National Guard. He lives with his wife, Sol Maritza, in a
spacious home in San Antonio de los Altos, a prosperous bedroom
community just south of Caracas.
Neither Colina nor Varela agreed to an interview, but their court
testimony has shed light on their lives and cases. Colina testified
last month. Varela began testifying on Aug. 12.
Venezuelan Judge Deyanira Nieves issued an arrest warrant for Colina
and Varela on Nov. 14 in connection with the Feb. 25, 2003, bombings.
They arrived at Miami International Airport in December and asked for
political asylum. They were detained at Krome pending resolution of
their petitions.
Colina and Varela deny the charges, calling them a government effort to
portray Venezuela's opposition as violent.
Venezuelan prosecutors say the evidence against them is solid, based on
a witness who allegedly overheard people plotting the bombings.
The U.S. government has not taken a position on Venezuela's demand that
Colina and Varela be extradited. But Homeland Security prosecutors have
asked immigration Judge Neale Foster, who is presiding over the case,
to deny safe haven.
Government papers filed in the case say there are ''serious reasons''
to believe Colina and Varela ''committed a serious nonpolitical crime''
before they arrived at MIA.
WHY DID THEY FLEE?
Homeland Security Assistant Chief Counsels Gina Garrett Jackson and
Carlos Lpez have sought to show Colina and Varela fled prosecution --
not persecution.
Defense attorneys Leopoldo Ochoa and Kenneth Panzer say the Venezuelan
legal system has been so politicized by Chavez that their clients would
not get a fair trial.
Colina, 30, is the most intriguing of the two because of his
background.
People in the barrios of the west of Caracas are generally seen as
Chavez allies because of his efforts to improve their lives through
various social initiatives, including sending Cuban doctors to run
medical clinics in their neighborhoods.
Colina told the Krome court that the perception that only the wealthy
oppose Chavez is wrong.
''It's just not so,'' Colina testified, claiming the Ch vez government
targeted him for ''physical elimination'' because he was traveling
around the country trying to dispel that perception.
''It's always said that the poor support Ch vez,'' Colina said. ``But
I'm from there. I was born in a humble place and I know that people in
humble places do not support him.''
Colina's parents say their son is telling the truth.
''He thinks like we think, like 70 percent of Venezuelans think,''
Colina's father, Antonio Benito Colina, told The Herald during an
interview earlier this year.
REFERENDUM RESULTS
Yet, electoral officials said Monday that Ch vez had survived Sunday's
recall referendum. The opposition refused to accept the outcome, saying
it was fraudulent.
Colina said he broke with Ch vez because he brought Cuban military
advisors to train Venezuelan troops, permitted Colombian guerrillas to
operate freely on Venezuelan soil and fostered corruption among the
military.
Though he portrayed himself as a peaceful Ch vez foe, Colina
acknowledged having had recent contacts with former Venezuelan Gen.
Felipe Rodriguez, a fugitive said to be plotting Ch vez's violent
overthrow -- and also wanted in connection with the bombings.
Single, Colina is the only child of the marriage between Antonio Benito
Colina and Gisela Pulido.
MET IN SCHOOL
Colina and Varela met when both attended officers' school between 1990
and 1995.
Colina became a logistics and supply officer near Caracas.
Varela was deployed to the Colombian border.
Varela, 31, is the son of retired Gen. German Varela, who served as
National Guard commander for a few months in 1999 before losing
confidence in Ch vez.
The younger Varela, the oldest of three brothers, fell in love with
military life growing up in the various military installations where
his father was stationed.
Unlike Colina, who always appears serious, Varela smiles easily.
Gen. Varela said his son loves to entertain people. ``He loves to sing.
He's actually a good singer.''
When his son fled with Colina to the United States, Gen. Varela said,
he left behind his family -- a common-law wife and a 2-year-old son. He
also has a 5-year-old daughter by a previous marriage, the father said.
On Aug. 12, Varela testified that he sought asylum because he feared
for his life in Venezuela after supplying sensitive information to the
CIA about how Colombian guerrillas operate in Venezuela under Ch vez's
protection. The CIA declined to comment.
''I felt I was being persecuted and my life was in danger,'' Varela
said.
Judge Foster is expected to decide later this year whether the two men
can stay or are to be deported