Raúl Baduel
| Raúl Isaías Baduel | |
|---|---|
Baduel announcing his concerns over the Venezuelan constitutional referendum in 2007
|
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| Minister of Defense | |
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In office 25 December 2006 – January 2008 |
|
| Preceded by | Jorge Luis García Carneiro |
| Succeeded by | Gustavo Rangel Briceño |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
6 July 1955 Las Mercedes, Guárico, Venezuela |
| Political party | United Socialist Party of Venezuela |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Venezuelan Armed Forces |
| Years of service | 1976–2007 |
| Rank | General in Chief |
| Commands | Defense Minister |
Raúl Isaías Baduel (born 6 July 1955) is a Venezuelan politician, retired general, and former Defense Minister under President Hugo Chávez. He was a member of Chavez' MBR-200, joining in December 1982.
Baduel was instrumental in restoring Chávez to power after the 2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, and was described by the BBC as "one of a small group of officers 'co-governing' Venezuela with Mr Chavez". He was commander-in-chief of the Venezuelan Army from 2004 until July 2007.
In 2007 Baduel left his position as Defense Minister. Chávez later said that he had removed Baduel from office because he had been unable to explain a string of irregularities. After retiring as Defense Minister, he emerged in 2007 as an opposition leader, when he publicly broke with Chavez and announced his opposition to the constitutional changes proposed in the 2007 constitutional referendum (defeated via referendum) that would have strengthened the powers of the presidency and removed the restriction on public officials being re-elected. Baduel "emerged as a prominent voice of dissent" concerned that Chavez was taking Venezuela down a "road to ruin" and becoming authoritarian. He became the highest-ranking military person opposed to Chavez's constitutional changes that would "concentrate power in the executive". In July 2007, he said, "A socialist regime is not incompatible with a democratic system of checks and balances and division of powers. We must separate ourselves from Marxist orthodoxy."
In October 2008, a "military prosecutor said he was responsible for about $14 million that disappeared during his tenure as defense minister" in a transaction involving the purchase of military equipment. According to The New York Times, "Chávez has moved against a wide range of domestic critics, and his efforts in recent weeks to strengthen his grip on the armed forces have led to high-profile arrests and a wave of reassignments". On 2 April 2009, Baduel was arrested at gunpoint; Baduel said that his arrest was politically motivated with Chávez allies admitting he was in private. Baduel was placed in Ramo Verde Prison. According to The Guardian, he says "his crime was to realise – and declare – that the president was a tyrant". The 2009 Human Rights Watch report mentions Baduel as an example of political persecution. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter expressed concern about the case, and Steve Ellner, a Venezuelan historian and analyst, noted that "courts overwhelmingly targeted opposition figures. 'Chávez's case would be much stronger if he went after corruption within his own government.' Arresting Baduel neutralised an opponent who could stir trouble in the army. 'Obviously throwing Baduel in jail had a political motivation.'" In April 2010, Amnesty International accused "the Venezuelan government of deliberately targeting opposition leaders and sympathizers".
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