Globovisión has just released a document by Hernando Contreras, former 56th national prosecutor of the Public Ministry in Venezuela. It indicates that Isaías Rodriguez, current ambassador of Hugo Chavez in Spain, has been aware of Arturo Cubillas‘ activities since 2001, when the member of ETA was arrested at Maiquetía International Airport with a fake Spanish passport and $5,000 in cash. However, the significance of this revelation is not merely Rodriguez’s knowledge of ETA members’ activities in Venezuela over the years. The serious concern is the statement attributed to Rodriguez:
«That man (Cubillas) belonged to an armed group (ETA) that has been fighting for just and irreproachable causes for many years, much like the FARC in Colombia, who have been engaged in armed struggle against their country’s system for almost 50 years. If that prosecutor had continued to investigate this ETA member, what likely would have happened is that he would have pushed for an unfair extradition process.»
If true, this statement constitutes a clear endorsement of terrorism. Claiming that the terrorism of ETA and the FARC is “just and irreproachable” is unacceptable. This assertion was reportedly made when Isaías Rodriguez was Attorney General of Venezuela. Former prosecutor Contreras claims he was removed from the investigation by Rodriguez, who assigned the case to one of his closest aides (Mercedes Prieto).
Arturo Cubillas, who gives interviews exclusively to chavista media (TELESUR and Ciudad Caracas), has asserted that meeting with ETA members in Venezuela is not a crime. He has also reiterated what can be argued as the “official line” of ETA’s lawyers and apologists, claiming that the statements of two detained ETAs linking him to training terrorists in Venezuelan territory were obtained through torture. Despite Cubillas denying his connections to ETA, the evidence suggests otherwise:
Cubillas was extradited to Venezuela in 1989 along with ten other ETA members—not due to being Basque, but because of his involvement in the murders of three police officers. Since his arrival in Venezuela, Cubillas has faced multiple legal issues related to his ETA ties. In 2002, for instance, he was arrested for obstructing justice in the search for other ETA members living in that country. Cubillas’ wife, Goizeder Odriozola, has authored opinion pieces in GARA, the newspaper affiliated with ETA. It seems the lawyers representing Cubillas in Spain primarily defend ETA members and the radical Basque left. A group of ETA sympathizers, Pakito Arriaran, has reported the supposed detention in Venezuela of Ainhoa Baglietto and Edurne Iriondo, two of Cubillas’ lawyers linked to the defense of ETA members. Cubillas has not denied meeting in Venezuela with ETA members Xabier Atristain and Juan Carlos Besance.
The regime of Hugo Chavez granted Cubillas naturalization on August 9, 2004. In 2005, he was appointed head of security for the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, a position from which he has not been removed. His acquisition of Venezuelan citizenship is currently preventing his extradition to Spain.