Venezuela: OK to seek ex-president's extradition

[Judi Lynn]

Mar 18, 10:52 PM EDT
Venezuela: OK to seek ex-president's extradition

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Venezuela's Supreme Court has cleared the way for the government to seek former President Carlos Andres Perez's extradition from the United States.

Perez is wanted for trial on charges stemming from violence during 1989 protests over gasoline and transportation prices.

Prosecutors allege Perez ordered a harsh crackdown in which at least 300 people died. Rights activists say many were shot indiscriminately by security forces.

The 87-year-old former leader has lived in the Miami area for more than a decade and is reportedly in poor health. He is also wanted in Venezuela on corruption charges.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/L/LT_VENEZUELA_EX_PRESIDENT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2010-03-18-22-52-54

Also posted in LBN:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4312037

[Judi Lynn]

1. Ex-leader won't return to Venezuela, wife says

Mar 19, 6:39 PM EDT
Ex-leader won't return to Venezuela, wife says

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- The wife of former Venezuelan leader Carlos Andres Perez ridiculed an attempt to extradite her husband from the United States, saying Friday that President Hugo Chavez is attempting to create a spectacle for political ends.

Cecilia Matos said in a telephone interview from Miami that the 87-year-old former president will not return to Venezuela to be tried on charges stemming from violence during 1989 protests.

She told The Associated Press that Chavez "wants a circus, and we aren't going to be the clowns in that circus."

In a ruling on Thursday, Venezuela's Supreme Court cleared the way for Chavez's government to request Perez's extradition.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/L/LT_VENEZUELA_EX_PRESIDENT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2010-03-19-18-39-56

http://doc.noticias24.com.nyud.net:8090/0904/capban.jpg http://www.venezuelanalysis.com.nyud.net:8090/images/2004/07/cap.jpg

http://cache.daylife.com.nyud.net:8090/imageserve/00nc0Pm2kd7hr/610x.jpg

Cecilia Matos