“I received orders… I am a military man, or I was a career military…”
Organic Law of Public Administration:
Guarantee of the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Article 8:
Public Administration officials are obligated to comply with and enforce the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Public Administration officials incur civil, criminal, administrative, or disciplinary liability, as appropriate, for acts, facts, or omissions that, in the exercise of their functions, violate or undermine the rights guaranteed by the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the law, regardless of any superior orders.
What strikes me is not the blatant audacity of Aponte Aponte justifying his actions, let’s remember that innocent people were deprived of their freedom, but that he dares to use such justification. Aponte Aponte, who was President for years of the Penal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice of Venezuela, shamelessly admits that his actions in the highest court did not follow his own judgment but rather superior orders, since he is, or was, a career military man.
All the consequences of such a servile attitude — like tons of drugs entering international markets and the related deaths and violence, undercover official support for terrorism, and the incarceration of innocent people — all of this, along with what remains to be uncovered, is because former magistrate Aponte Aponte was unable to use his free will, reasoning, and intellect. Instead, like a mere automaton, he received and followed orders without stopping to consider the consequences of his actions.
Thus, a reiteration of what has been said so many times: in Chavismo, only one “thinks,” while the others limit themselves to obeying orders. What a regrettable and shameful state Venezuela is in: degenerated automatons like Aponte Aponte control all power, and the only supposed thinker is a puppet of Fidel Castro.