A Controversial Cabinet Appointment

The biggest news in Venezuela this weekend came out on Friday when President Chávez announced the appointment of a new Defense Minister: General Henry Rangel Silva. I would not expect many of my readers to recognize the name, but let's just say that his selection confirmed the worst fears of most antichavistas here. Silva first drew international attention in 2007 when, according to prosecutors' witnesses, the then-head of Venezuela's intelligence services was ordered by the President to direct a cover-up of the government's involvement in the infamous incident where a suitcase full of $800,000 in cash was discovered in the Buenos Aires airport. That money, it was determined, was part of a series of illicit contributions to the campaign of Argentine candidate, and now President, Cristina Fernández. A subsequent trial in Miami exposed the involvement of a series of high ranking officials in the Venezuelan government and in PDVSA, the state-run oil company. The coverage greatly embarrassed Chávez and caused considerable public relations damage to the government, despite Silva's best efforts.


In 2008, the United States Treasury Department added to General Silva's notoriety and to its list of people who run afoul of the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act. It alleged that Silva provides significant material support to Colombia's FARC, which is designated a terrorist and drug-trafficking organization in the U.S. Thus the new Defense Minister will not be making any trips to Washington, DC anytime soon unless he wishes to be arrested upon arrival.

If any doubt remained about General Silva's bad-boy bona fides, they were erased in November when he said in an interview with a Venezuelan newspaper that the military "would not accept an opposition victory in the 2012 elections." Chávez went on to praise Silva's statement and merits, leading many to believe that this was the stance he preferred the military to take. In addition to the latent danger that a partisan military poses in any country, the threat carries even more risk in Venezuela because the army is tasked here with monitoring elections.

Adding one last twist of the knife to the sting of the announcement for many, President Chávez chose to make the announcement of his new Defense Minister at a church after praying to Our Lady of Coromoto, the Patroness of Venezuela, in the city of Guanare. He went to the church to offer thanks for his renewed health after his battle with cancer over the past year, and many observers were infuriated that he would choose such an inappropriate setting for the occasion.

The selection of a new Defense Minister comes as part of a greater cabinet shuffle that Chávez has managed in the past month after he directed three of its members, including the Vice President Elias Jaua, to resign their posts in order to run for state governorships. The results have led many to conclude that he is attempting to shore up support from the military, and the appointment of Silva does nothing to upset that view. All in all, it presents a foreboding view to anyone who thinks that Chávez will willingly step aside in the event that he is defeated at the ballot box in October.