Long-time freedom advocate and former Venezuelan presidential candidate Alejandro Pena Esclusa was arrested on July 12 by the Chavez regime on trumped-up explosives charges, according to various Latin American sources. His arrest adds to the growing list of political prisoners being held in Venezuela including journalists, opposition politicians, and judges who don’t bow down to the regime.

Minions of socialist “President” Hugo Chavez claim a recently arrested Salvadorian man, wanted for alleged connections to bombings in Cuba, informed Venezuelan authorities that he was working with Esclusa. The alleged “terrorist,” Francisco Abarca, was arrested in Venezuela last week for supposedly plotting to destabilize the government. He is now in Cuba facing charges, ensuring that no independent confirmation of Abarca’s alleged testimony against Esclusa will be allowed. Experts also question Abarca’s involvement in the 1997 Cuban bombings.

The day of his own arrest, Esclusa posted a video online explaining that he feared being jailed on fake charges because the government was trying to link him to Abarca. But, he noted, "I don't believe in violence. I believe in opinion." That is the same message he shared with The New American in an interview earlier this year.

The controlled Venezuelan media, however, has been quick to condemn him. "Alejandro Pena Esclusa is a dark character of the Venezuelan opposition linked to fascist sectors and with a thick file of conspiratorial activities against the government of President Hugo Chavez," reported the Chavez regime’s official propaganda organ, ABN. “Fascist” in Chavez-speak means anyone opposed to the utter destruction being wrought on Venezuela’s economy through the regime’s “revolution.”

But those who know Esclusa, as well as opponents of the socialist revolution and even unbiased observers, are certain that the charges were politically motivated. His wife, for example, denounced the arrest and said authorities had framed her husband.

"These people dared to plant those explosives in a very crude way because they put some explosives in the drawer of our 8-year-old girl's desk," Indira de Pena told a Colombian radio station, adding that agents had planted the fake “evidence” while Esclusa was already handcuffed.

Esclusa has served as one of the most important players battling the resurgence of communism and socialism throughout Latin America — he is the founder and president of UnoAmerica, an umbrella organization for over 200 pro-freedom groups in the region. The organization issued a statement rejecting Esclusa’s “absurd and illegal” detention, calling for his immediate release. The set-up "is part of a Cuban operation that looks to link opposition leaders with terrorist acts," the organization said.

Famed Brazilian author, philosopher, and journalist Olavo de Carvalho — a personal friend of Esclusa and another key figure in the opposition to the socialist revolution sweeping Latin America — called the charges “ridiculous, false, and absurd.” In an e-mail to The New American, he said accusations were “entirely manufactured by Chavez’s police” and noted that the idea of finding explosives in Pena's apartment was “laughable, to say the least.”

“Pena, who has never shown any sign of mental unbalance, would have to be completely insane to plot bomb attacks against a government which he has filed suit against in the International Court of Justice,” Carvalho explained. “The goal of the farce set up against Pena is to create an appearance of connection between him and ‘violent right-wing organizations,’ which, in the current Latin American scene, stand out especially because of their spectacular non-existence.”

The arrest is simply “more proof of Hugo Chavez's utter contempt for the fundamental rights of his political opponents,” Carvalho explained, noting that Esclusa spoke with sadness about the situation in his country, but without any sign of hatred.

Carvalho also noted that he is worried about Esclusa’s fate at the hands of the Venezuelan regime. “Nobody knows where Alejandro Pena is, nor what his health condition is after some hours of fondling by the hands of Hugo Chavez's political police, widely known by their matchless tenderness,” he said, calling on the Catholic Church in Venezuela “to send a priest to meet with Pena Esclusa in prison immediately, in order to ensure that the excess of humanitarianism of the Chavez government will not lead the prisoner to death from emotional exhaustion or from unknown or unthinkable causes.”

Esclusa is widely known and respected for his activism in Latin America and the United States, even prompting the Alabama state legislature to pass a resolution praising him and his efforts to promote liberty.

"At great personal risk to himself, Alejandro Pena Esclusa has stood firm in opposition to the spread of Marxism and totalitarianism in Latin America," notes the resolution. “He continues to serve as an ideological and symbolic counterweight to Chavez's grievance driven exploitation of the people of Venezuela and of broader Latin America in furtherance of the fomentation of authoritarian movements in the region.”

Myriad international bodies and human-rights groups have condemned the socialist regime’s political arrests and appalling behavior. For example, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, part of the Organization of American States, recently released a scathing report about Chavez's government saying it routinely violates human rights. "The commission also finds that the punitive power of the state is being used to intimidate or punish people on account of their political opinions," the report noted.

Chavez has shut down dozens of media outlets in radio, television, and newspaper. He regularly arrests critics, including the head of the last remaining balanced television station (on charges of “insulting the chief executive"), politicians who disagree with his power grabs, and even judges who don’t unhesitatingly do his bidding. He also frequently steals private property in the name of his “revolution,” driving the economy into the ground.

As reported by The New American magazine earlier this year, Chavez and his “petro-dollars” are part of a vast network of governments, terrorists, drug traffickers, and organizations that have been working in the shadows to spread “revolution” throughout the region. Under the banner of the Foro de Sao Paolo (Sao Paolo Forum), socialism is steadily advancing to the point where the FSP now dominates most Latin American governments.

The group was founded by Fidel Castro, the Sandinistas, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio da Silva (Lula), and other radical totalitarians. It includes among its members Marxist guerilla groups like the FARC, ELN, MIR and others, as well as over 100 political parties. Its allies include Russia, China, and even various European and American groups. And people like Esclusa were on the front lines exposing the FSP and its authoritarian aims.

When Esclusa spoke to The New American in a telephone interview earlier this year, he acknowledged the dangers of living in Venezuela under Chavez’s rule. He knew it was dangerous and that the authorities were watching him, but he remained optimistic nonetheless.

“[The FSP] has built within it the seeds of its own destruction,” he told The New American from the jungles of Colombia. “Once they are in power, they are not able to create wealth, so eventually, the movement will be defeated.… But even though it is destined to fail, in the meantime, it can destroy a lot.” And unfortunately, it appears possible that Esclusa may become the latest victim of the FSP’s destruction.

Photo of Hugo Chavez: AP Images

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William said:

The real collectivist threat is HERE, not in Latin America The tactics used by Chavez's regime in this case -- planting evidence, extracting secret "testimony" from informants -- are quite a bit like those used by the government afflicting this country when it goes after political dissidents or stages high-profile prosecutions of politically marginalized people. Something similar is true regarding Chavez's role in "the vast network of governments, terrorists, drug traffickers, and organizations that have been working in the shadows to spread `revolution'...." Washington has its own network -- call it the "Neo-con Comintern" -- that is a motley of similarly disreputable movements and organizations. Whatever one thinks of Chavez (he's a collectivist thug of the Castroite variety, as far as I can tell), it's pretty clear that Washington's attempts to intervene in Venezuela haven't made things better for anybody. Those covert campaigns are both illegal and unwise. The real "front line" in the battle against totalitarianism is here in the U.S. Surely we have enough to worry about at home without diligently cataloging -- and obsessing over -- the collectivist sins of Latin American countries who pose no credible threat to us.

July 14, 2010 | url

Lee Gonzales said:

Collectivist threats around the world William states: "Surely we have enough to worry about at home without diligently cataloging -- and obsessing over -- the collectivist sins of Latin American countries who pose no credible threat to us." "Pose no threat?" William, that is an incredible statement from you in view of the millions of people pouring into the USA illegally from mostly one of those Latin-Americans countries, but also from other countries further south! The point of having a news magazine like this one is to keep every one informed not only in the USA but also in Central and South America.

July 14, 2010

William said:

Immigration Crisis: Manufactured in the USA First of all, immigration has abated dramatically since the Fed-induced housing bubble burst. One key illustration is the fact that remittances started coming INTO the U.S. FROM Mexico, instead of the other way around. In addition to the Fed's manipulation of our economy, the welfare state magnet the violence churned up by the demented, unconstitutional "War on Drugs" play much bigger roles in Latin American migration northward (particularly from Mexico) than anything being done by Chavez and his ilk. How does U.S. intervention in the region -- whether through covert or overt means (the presence of a huge US armada off Costa Rica suggests the latter is in the offing)-- do anything to solve the problems caused by illegal immigration, rather than exacerbating them?

July 14, 2010

Ulf Erlingsson said:

One for all, all for one Every one of us must stand up for every one who is falsely imprisoned. There is no acceptable level of political prisoners. The horrific part is that Chavez's propaganda version has been spread by AP and AFP (I still have seen nothing from Reuters), and the AP text has even made it onto FOX News online - one propaganda outlet is spreading the enemy's propaganda!!! There is an autopilot function in media that one has to break through, and this article is a very good contribution to that. More!

July 14, 2010 | url

Lee Gonzales said:

It's a statement of fact, a warning and also inspirational, William that.... The article written by Mr. Alex Newman is that communism is NOT dead. It certainly is not dead in Venezuela where critics of the Chavez regime are being jailed. There is a warning that what is going on down Caracas way will happen here. It is inspirational that men such as Alejandro Pena Esclusa stand up to tyrants and risk their freedom and perhaps even their life for freedom. The Newman article didn't mention the "housing bubble" nor the Federal Reserve but nevertheless, when it comes to "manufacturing" crisis and all sorts of problems, you can count on people within the government of the US to make matters worse by proposing the wrong cure of more government regulations! It's curious that those people making the same policy mistakes are from the CFR? News stories like this one don't make it to the headlines on your average daily paper simply because the dailies depend on wire services that "spike" these types of stories. Communism is supposed to be dead and newspaper editors generally follow that thesis and don't run stories that challenge the "group think" line.It's up to quality magazines like TNA and their online version that provide perspective. TNA is not alone and this similar story was filed by the editor of another conservative journal: http://www.newswithviews.com/Kincaid/cliff435.htm

July 15, 2010

William said:

TNA and "Telescopic Philantropy" In his novel Bleak House, Dickens took issue with "telescopic philantropy," the habit of obsessing over the misfortunes of distant people while ignoring the tragedies in one's own neighborhood. TNA displays similarly skewed priorities by fixating on the sins and crimes of foreign collectivist regimes while our country descends into undisguised tyranny. Chavez is loathsome, but he's not our problem. The same is true of Ahmadenijad, Putin, or any of the other demon figures the Beltway Conservative media (in case you hadn't noticed,the influence of the "right-collectivist" media has eclipsed that of its "left-collectivist" counterpart) uses to scare children into eating their brussels sprouts -- and their parents into surrendering their freedoms. Decades ago, the execrable William F. Buckley Jr. laid out the conservative template: Focus on defeating foreign enemies, even if that means putting up with "a totalitarian bureaucracy within our shores." Robert Welch insisted on focusing attention on defeating the collectivist government ruling us, which is why Buckley "excommunicated" him from the conservative movement. TNA's recent approach -- Look! Russian spies! Beware the Iranian menace! Oooh, Chavez is being beastly to a neo-con surrogate! -- is much closer to Buckley's approach than that of Robert Welch. And you're right, Mr. Gonzalez -- TNA is not alone in that approach; there are others content to ride that Beltway-generated wave.

July 15, 2010 | url

Socratize said:

Video by Peña Esclusa: "Why does Chávez link me to terrorism?" For those who want to take a closer look into the case, I recommend two things: Watch the video (with English subtitles) Mr. Peña Esclusa recorded a few hours before he was arrested by Chávez, explaining why the Venezuelan president wants to incriminate him as a terrorist. Here are the YouTube links: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...re=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...re=related Also watch the video Brazilian philosopher Olavo de Carvalho recorded denouncing Chávez’s fraudulent arrest of Mr. Peña Esclusa. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jokwPgPmorI

July 15, 2010

R. Wollus said:

Mr. William Grigg: With all due respect Mr. Grigg, and I am a fan of your writing, your criticism of foreign news coverage (especially important foreign news coverage) seems rather misguided. The battle for freedom is now a global battle, if for no other reason than the globalists have forced this situation upon us. When you say the Chavez government's oppression is not "our problem", who do you claim to be speaking for? He is the problem of all of my brothers and sisters fighting for liberty in Venezuela and all of south and central America. His many allies in the US look to him for guidance. Also, where should Venezuelans and Latin Americans find out the truth about what is going on in their countries? From Chavez TV? Or from Chavez radio? What about Latin Americans living in the US? Should they simply be satisfied with the AP's distortions? Mr. Esclusa is unfortunately a lonely voice battling the strengthening forces of Marxism in Latin America. He needs all the help he can get, so I am for one am very pleased that The New American provides coverage of these issues. Yes, American domestic tyranny is an important topic, but if you spent some time looking through the site, I think you would find that The New American covers the subject better than any other publication.

July 16, 2010

Ulf Erlingsson said:

Chavez is the real threat, not Obama Hugo Chavez apparently really is the front man of Castro communism, the one designated to spread it over Latin America. But who is behind him? Not just Castro - also Brazil's president Lula da Silva, it appears. He, it has been said, is the back room man, while Chavez is the front room man. How big a role Castro has at this stage is questionable, but one thing is unquestionable: If Chavez falls, Cuba get in deep trouble. Exile Cubans would be well advised to forget about Castro until September 26 and focus on helping the democratic opposition win the elections in Venezuela instead. Obama is a threat only because he, as president, does not understand or care about this threat to democracy in Latin America. And GOP? Well, they want to win in November, so they have no reason to help the Venezuelan opposition. It's cynical, but I believe that politicians are cynical. If Chavez wins, they can expose Obama as incompetent in foreign policy, but if he looses, Obama will appear as a winner, and GOP will lose. So it is in the GOP interest not to talk about Alejandro Pena Esclusa. Unless we force them to!

July 17, 2010 | url