Venezuela Prosecutor Slaying Condemned by U.S. Congressmen and Authorities

U.S. Congressmen William Delahunt and Gregory Meeks, and the U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela, condemned the assasination of State Prosecutor Danilo Anderson last week, and called for an investigation

Caracas, Nov 25, 2004 (Venezuelanalysis.com).- U.S. Congressmen William Delahunt and Gregory Meeks, expressed their condolences to the family of State Prosecutor Danilo Anderson, who was murdered last week during a terrorist attack in Caracas.

Anderson, who was in charge of prosecuting several opponents of President Hugo Chavez accused of participating in the April 11th, 2002 coup d’etat, was killed by a car bomb last Thursday. His death was widely condemned in Venezuela

In a letter sent to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, the U.S. lawmakers condemned the murder of Anderson “in the strongest possible terms.” They also expressed their condolences to the people of Venezuela.

“As long time friends of Venezuela, we have always been impressed by the Venezuelan people’s rejection of this kind of political violence seen in other countries,” says the letter.

The U.S. lawmakers offered their assistance to the Venezuelan government in the investigations of the attack “in any way that we can support.”

U.S. Ambassador also condemns killing

The U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela, William R. Brownfield, also condemned the incident speaking of behalf of the people of the United States. “The United States strongly condemns the act of violence perpetrated against State Prosecutor Danilo Anderson,” Brownfield said during an interview with the local media last week.

Brownfield offered his condolences to the Anderson family, and hoped for an exhaustive investigation and judicial action against the perpetrators.

“We continue to urge all Venezuelans to reject any effort aimed at resolving political differences or to achieve political goals through violence.”

Adam Ereli, the U.S. State Department spokesman, also condemned the assassination and called for an investigation.

Venezuela’s Ambassador to the U.S., Bernardo Alvarez, thanked the messages of condolences by U.S. authorities, but urged them to investigate open calls for violence, such as several ones against President Chavez, made by Venezuelan government opponents through some Miami-based media. “Venezuela’s problems can be solved by killing the dog with a telescopic rifle,” said Venezuelan actor and Chavez opponent Orlando Urdaneta during an interview in the U.S. TV network Univision, two weeks ago.

According to Venezuela’s Minister of Communication and Information, Andres Izarra, the assassination of Anderson is an attack on the judicial branch aimed at derailing their investigations and prosecution of those who supported the April 11th 2002 coup against President Chavez.

Rocket launchers, missiles, and explosives were found in the house of lawyer Antonio Lopez, a suspect who died yesterday while confronting authorities.
Credit: Venpres

Investigations going forward

The investigations into the assassination of Anderson are advancing at a rapid pace, according to local authorities. Yesterday, a confrontation between the Investigative Police and a suspect, led to a shooting where the suspect died. Authorities later raided the suspect’s house, and found a cache of explosive, weapons and ammunition.

Interior Minister Jesee Chacon hinted that the suspect, a young lawyer, son of a former Venezuelan lawmaker, might have received training in the United States. “This is the type of training received by those linked to the CIA,” Chacon said. The Minister did not directly link the US government to the Anderson case, but Venezuelan authorities have complained in the past of the U.S. lack of cooperation in the deportation of two Venezuelan terrorist suspects currently in custody in Florida, and their lack of action against the alleged “terrorist training camps” in Florida described in some U.S. media outlets such as The Miami Herald and Univision.

See also: