Venezuela feels the heat

With dictators toppling like dominoes across the Middle East, Venezuela’s president-for-life, Hugo Chávez, is signaling worry about his own despotic rule.

Mr. Chávez’s interior minister, Tareck El Aissami, responded vehemently when the U.S. State Department suggested last week that the Organization of American States be allowed to visit youths on a hunger strike to protest the jailing of opposition politicians.

The minister accused the U.S. government of trying to foment a “virtual Egypt,” which suggests that Venezuela sees parallels with the explosive situation in the Middle East. There’s ample reason for that.

The peaceful protests against Mr. Chávez are not comparable to the scale or nature of the bloody uprisings that began in Tunisia and have swept across the region like a desert wind. But Mr. Chávez knows that his regime shares more than a few ugly similarities with the political systems run by the Middle East’s despotic rulers, including his friend, Libya’s Moammar Gadhafi, and therein lies the basis of his concern.

As in any hardline regime, the suppression of dissent and the punishment of anyone who dares to oppose the leader is a principal feature of Mr. Chávez’s dictatorial rule.

Take the case of Judge María Lourdes Afiuni, arrested more than 14 months ago for daring to believe that magistrates should follow the law and protect the innocent from abusive government practices. Ms. Afiuni ordered the release of Eligio Cedeño, a banker who had been detained for nearly three years without trial after running afoul of Mr. Chavez’s harsh banking laws. Mr. Cedeño’s incarceration had been cited by the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.

The result of her action was unfortunate and all too predictable. She was herself arrested and her name has now been added to the list of Mr. Chávez’s victims cited by the U.N. group. “Judge Afiuni is said to have been charged with corruption, being an accessory to an escape, criminal conspiracy and abuse of power,” the agency said in its latest report. “She is still imprisoned today and the Working Group has received information alleging that she has been subjected to death threats and that her health is deteriorating.” After the report was issued, the judge was released to undergo an operation. After that, she was again detained and placed under house arrest.

The bottom line is this: A judge who believed in the law took action to help an internationally-recognized victim of arbitrary detention and immediately suffered the same fate — par for the course in today’s Venezuela.

Given the state’s willingness to crack down on all forms of dissent, it takes courage to protest, but since Jan. 31 a group of 13 Venezuelan youths have been conducting a hunger strike outside the office of the OAS in Caracas to demand the release of jailed dissidents. They have also asked the state to allow fair trials and respect legislative immunity, but there’s little chance of Mr. Chávez acquiescing. Among those deemed political prisoners are elected lawmakers. A series of actions by the Chávez government has progressively smothered the judiciary’s independence.

The students have also asked for José Mighel Insulza, secretary-general of the OAS, to investigate the plight of Venezuela’s political prisoners. Mr. Insulza says he’s willing, but, under OAS rules, he needs an invitation from the government and that is unlikely to be forthcoming, judging by the response of Venezuela’s interior minister.

On Monday, three of the hunger strikers were rushed to a hospital because they required medical attention. A visit by Mr. Insulza might allow all sides to step back from the brink before this political drama takes a tragic turn, but that’s up to Venezuela’s president. So far, he’s taken a page from the despot’s handbook by showing contempt and ridicule for the protesters and warning of a plot inspired by foreign enemies. Just like Hosni Mubarak.