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He has become known as a detractor of [[Hugo Chávez]] and his socialist [[Bolivarian Revolution]]. He is currently in jail on terrorism-related charges, supporters say the arrest is for political reasons.<ref name="cnn1" >{{cite news|title=Venezuela: Opposition politician arrested on explosives charge|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/07/13/venezuela.politician.arrested/?fbid=Pa34h2zF7Tc|publisher=CNN|accessdate=19 July 2010 | date=2010-07-13}}</ref><ref>Libertad inmediata para Alejandro Peña Esclusa, preso político en Venezuela; UnoAmérica, retrieved 2010-07-19, http://www.unoamerica.org/unoPAG/videos.php?id=89</ref>
He has become known as a detractor of [[Hugo Chávez]] and his socialist [[Bolivarian Revolution]]. He is currently in jail on terrorism-related charges, supporters say the arrest is for political reasons.<ref name="cnn1" >{{cite news|title=Venezuela: Opposition politician arrested on explosives charge|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/07/13/venezuela.politician.arrested/?fbid=Pa34h2zF7Tc|publisher=CNN|accessdate=19 July 2010 | date=2010-07-13}}</ref><ref>Libertad inmediata para Alejandro Peña Esclusa, preso político en Venezuela; UnoAmérica, retrieved 2010-07-19, http://www.unoamerica.org/unoPAG/videos.php?id=89</ref>


==Background==
==Early life==
Peña Esclusa was born 3 July 1954 in [[Washington, D.C.]], the son of a Venezuelan Army General, Enrique Peña Briceño.<ref name=PdV/> He graduated in [[mechanical engineering]] from the [[Universidad Simón Bolívar]] in 1977, and in 1980 obtained a postgraduate degree in finance from the [[Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Administración]] (IESA).<ref name=PdV/> In 1978 he won the national [[karate]] championships, and in 1981 gained a civil aviation licence.<ref name=PdV/>
Peña Esclusa was born 3 July 1954 in [[Washington, D.C.]], the son of a Venezuelan Army General, Enrique Peña Briceño.<ref name=PdV/> He graduated in [[mechanical engineering]] from the [[Universidad Simón Bolívar]] in 1977, and in 1980 obtained a postgraduate degree in finance from the [[Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Administración]] (IESA).<ref name=PdV/> In 1978 he won the national [[karate]] championships, and in 1981 gained a civil aviation licence.<ref name=PdV/>


He married Indira Ramírez in 1989, and had three daughters.<ref name=PdV/>
He married Indira Ramírez in 1989, and had three daughters.<ref name=PdV/>


==Political career==
==Political career==
⚫
According to the website of the Venezuelan Ministry of Information and Communication, Peña Esclusa was the head of a radical conservative and anti-communist Christian sect, the ''[[Tradición, Familia y Propiedad]]'' (TFP) which was banned in 1984 when plans were discovered to murder Pope [[John Paul II]] during a visit to Venezuela.<ref name=MINCI>{{es}} Ministerio del Poder Popular para la Informacion y la Comunicacion, Gobierno Bolivariano de Venezuela, 13 July 2010, [http://www.vtv.gob.ve/noticias-nacionales/39578 Conozca el PRONTUARIO de Alejandro Peña Esclusa], retrieved 2010-07-17</ref> The Ministry said that according to security reports, members of TFP had travelled to the United States to conspire to assassinate President [[Ronald Reagan]]. Peña Esclusa denied any links with TFP.<ref>{{es}}, Noticias24.com, 15 May 2008, [http://www.noticias24.com/actualidad/noticia/14244/la-sospechosa-aparicion-de-pena-esclusa-en-la-rueda-de-prensa-de-interpol/ Peña Esclusa explica por qué “apareció” en la rueda de prensa de Interpol]</ref>


⚫
The Venezuelan Ministry of Information and Communication also claimed links between Peña Esclusa and rightwing individuals and organizations in other countries, including [[Lyndon LaRouche]].<ref name=MINCI/> In 1985 he helped distribute LaRouche's book ''Narcotráfico, S.A.'' ("Dope, Inc."),<ref name=PdV/> and by 1988 he was the leader of the [[Partido Laboral Venezolano]] (PLV, Venezuelan Labor Party), a party which he co-founded as the Venezuelan branch of LaRouche's [[International Caucus of Labor Committees]], modelled on LaRouche's [[U.S. Labor Party]].<ref>{{es}} Aporrea, 14 July 2010, [http://www.aporrea.org/actualidad/a104033.html Para aquellos que no saben quien es Alejandrito]</ref><ref>Jarkow Institute/[[ADL]], January 1988, [http://lyndonlarouche.org/larouche-latin-america-ADL.PDF The LaRouche Network in Latin America]</ref> According to ''[[Agencia Venezolana de Noticias]]'' he split with LaRouche in 1988, when LaRouche was imprisoned in the United States,<ref>{{es}}, ''[[Agencia Venezolana de Noticias]]'', 13 July 2010, [http://www.avn.info.ve/node/4704 Captura del terrorista Chávez Abarca fue silenciada por empresas privadas de prensa]</ref> while LaRouche's ''[[Executive Intelligence Review]]'' dated the split to spring 1998,<ref> ''[[Executive Intelligence Review]]'', 19 June 2004, [http://www.larouchepub.com/pr/2004/040619vz_slander.html Screwball Internet Slander of LaRouche Launched in Venezuela]</ref>, describing him as a "[[LaRouche movement]] deserter" in 2009.<ref>''[[Executive Intelligence Review]]'', 2 June 2009, [http://www.larouchepub.com/eiw/public/2009/2009_20-29/2009_20-29/2009-22/ibero.html Brits Jack Up Separatist Movement in Ibero-America]</ref> In 1997 the [[Stephen Roth Institute]] wrote that "Anti-Semitic propaganda is also disseminated by the Partido Laboral Venezolano (Venezuela Workers' Party), an affiliate of the Lyndon LaRouche cult."<ref>[[Stephen Roth Institute]], [http://www.tau.ac.il/Anti-Semitism/asw97-8/venezuela.html VENEZUELA], accessed 4 April 2011</ref>
⚫
⚫
In June 2009, Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Relations, [[Nicolás Maduro]], described Peña Esclusa as a man that "has spent his life tied to the CIA and numerous violent movements including the 2002 military coup [against president Hugo Chávez] and a member of violent right-wing groups that moved about Central America for long periods alongside [[Luis Posada Carriles]], a terrorist protected by the North American justice system and wanted in Venezuela."<ref name=VA150710/>

===Opposition to Chávez===
Peña Esclusa has been an opponent of Hugo Chávez ever since he denounced Chávez for being a front man for [[Fidel Castro]] in a 1994 book.<ref>Statement by his wife Indira Ramirez de Peña in the TV program LA NOCHE, 2010-07-14, retrieved 2010-07-15, http://www.ruedalo.org/</ref> He published an article in 1995 attacking the [[Foro de São Paulo]], which Chávez' [[Fifth Republic Movement]] joined that year.<ref name=PdV/> Peña Esclusa entered the [[Venezuelan presidential election, 1998]] as a candidate for the ''Partido Laboral Venezolano'' (PLV).<ref>{{es}} Aporrea, 14 July 2010, [http://www.aporrea.org/actualidad/a104033.html Para aquellos que no saben quien es Alejandrito]</ref> Announcing his candidacy in July 1998, with Chavez already the front runner, he aimed to denounce Chavez and warn of the dangers of electing him.<ref>{{es}} Alejandro Peña Esclusa, 25 July 1998, [http://fuerzasolidaria.org/?p=60 Mi objetivo es evitar la guerra civil]</ref> He received less than 0.1% of the vote. On 28 July 2000 Peña Esclusa formally accused Chávez of [[treason]], denouncing him to the Fiscal General, which rejected the claim.<ref name=PdV/><ref>{{es}} Fuerza Solidaria, 1 February 2002, [http://fuerzasolidaria.org/?p=1385 Juicio contra Chávez por traición]</ref>
Peña Esclusa has been an opponent of Hugo Chávez ever since he denounced Chávez for being a front man for [[Fidel Castro]] in a 1994 book.<ref>Statement by his wife Indira Ramirez de Peña in the TV program LA NOCHE, 2010-07-14, retrieved 2010-07-15, http://www.ruedalo.org/</ref> He published an article in 1995 attacking the [[Foro de São Paulo]], which Chávez' [[Fifth Republic Movement]] joined that year.<ref name=PdV/> Peña Esclusa entered the [[Venezuelan presidential election, 1998]] as a candidate for the ''Partido Laboral Venezolano'' (PLV).<ref>{{es}} Aporrea, 14 July 2010, [http://www.aporrea.org/actualidad/a104033.html Para aquellos que no saben quien es Alejandrito]</ref> Announcing his candidacy in July 1998, with Chavez already the front runner, he aimed to denounce Chavez and warn of the dangers of electing him.<ref>{{es}} Alejandro Peña Esclusa, 25 July 1998, [http://fuerzasolidaria.org/?p=60 Mi objetivo es evitar la guerra civil]</ref> He received less than 0.1% of the vote. On 28 July 2000 Peña Esclusa formally accused Chávez of [[treason]], denouncing him to the Fiscal General, which rejected the claim.<ref name=PdV/><ref>{{es}} Fuerza Solidaria, 1 February 2002, [http://fuerzasolidaria.org/?p=1385 Juicio contra Chávez por traición]</ref>


In May 2001 Peña Esclusa founded the NGO Fuerza Solidaria.<ref>{{es}} Fuerza Solidaria, [http://fuerzasolidaria.org/?page_id=1 Orígenes de Fuerza Solidaria]</ref> This organization coined the slogan "no to cubanization", and organised a range of political protests against Chávez, including a demonstration in front of the Cuban embassy.<ref name=PdV/> In February 2002 Peña Esclusa, on behalf of Fuerza Solidaria, called for the general strike being organised to be indefinite, until Chávez resigned.<ref name=PdV/><ref>{{es}} Alejandro Peña Esclusa, Fuerza Solidaria, 6 February 2002, [http://fuerzasolidaria.org/?p=1372 Folleto: Huelga Nacional “Chávez: ¡Vete ya!”]</ref>
In May 2001 Peña Esclusa founded the NGO Fuerza Solidaria.<ref>{{es}} Fuerza Solidaria, [http://fuerzasolidaria.org/?page_id=1 Orígenes de Fuerza Solidaria]</ref> This organization coined the slogan "no to cubanization", and organised a range of political protests against Chávez, including a demonstration in front of the Cuban embassy.<ref name=PdV/> In February 2002 Peña Esclusa, on behalf of Fuerza Solidaria, called for the general strike being organised to be indefinite, until Chávez resigned.<ref name=PdV/><ref>{{es}} Alejandro Peña Esclusa, Fuerza Solidaria, 6 February 2002, [http://fuerzasolidaria.org/?p=1372 Folleto: Huelga Nacional “Chávez: ¡Vete ya!”]</ref> Following the mass demonstration of April 11, 2002, and the [[2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt]] that resulted, he was briefly detained on suspicion of links to military officers allegedly involved in what has been described as an attempted coup.<ref>[[Associated Press]], 13 July 2010, [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100713/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_venezuela_chavez_foe Chavez opponent detained in Venezuela]</ref> Peña Esclusa himself has expressly denounced violence as a method, and said that he does not believe that violence can end Hugo Chávez's government, but that a peaceful mass movement can.<ref name=FS3162>{{es}} Fuerza Solidaria, 12 July 2010, [http://fuerzasolidaria.org/?p=3162 ¿Por qué Chávez vincula a Peña Esclusa con el terrorismo?], retrieved 2010-07-13</ref>

Following the [[2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt]] he was briefly detained on suspicion of links to military officers involved.<ref>[[Associated Press]], 13 July 2010, [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100713/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_venezuela_chavez_foe Chavez opponent detained in Venezuela]</ref> Peña Esclusa himself has expressly denounced violence as a method, and said that he does not believe that violence can end Hugo Chávez's government, but that a peaceful mass movement can.<ref name=FS3162>{{es}} Fuerza Solidaria, 12 July 2010, [http://fuerzasolidaria.org/?p=3162 ¿Por qué Chávez vincula a Peña Esclusa con el terrorismo?], retrieved 2010-07-13</ref> The Venezuelan Ministry of Information and Communication website accused Peña Esclusa of links with an alleged CIA campaign to ensure a "no" vote in the 2007 referendum on constitutional changes.<ref name=MINCI/>


Traveling North and South America as well as Europe, Peña Esclusa has claimed that Chávez was allowing Russia and Iran to use Venezuela as a base for strategic bombers, submarines, warships, and long range missiles capable of reaching the United States. He has also alleged crimes against humanity perpetrated by the regime, and links with terrorist groups.<ref>[[WorldNetDaily]], 6 February 2011, [http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=259717#ixzz1DH6ssW7s "Man jailed for warning U.S. of al-Qaida danger"], retrieved 2011-02-07</ref>
Traveling North and South America as well as Europe, Peña Esclusa has claimed that Chávez was allowing Russia and Iran to use Venezuela as a base for strategic bombers, submarines, warships, and long range missiles capable of reaching the United States. He has also alleged crimes against humanity perpetrated by the regime, and links with terrorist groups.<ref>[[WorldNetDaily]], 6 February 2011, [http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=259717#ixzz1DH6ssW7s "Man jailed for warning U.S. of al-Qaida danger"], retrieved 2011-02-07</ref>


On March 23, 2010, Peña Esclusa's strong opposition to the Venezuelan president was lauded by the Alabama state legislature, which took up a resolution commending his actions.<ref>website of [[Robert J. Bentley]], "[http://www.robertbentley2010.com/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=128&cntnt01returnid=64&cntnt01returnid=64 Alabama House of Representatives commends Peña Esclusa on his corageous stand against totalitarianism]". Retrieved 2010-07-15.</ref>
On March 23, 2010, Peña Esclusa's strong opposition to the Venezuelan president was lauded by the Alabama state legislature, which took up a resolution commending his actions.<ref>website of [[Robert J. Bentley]], "[http://www.robertbentley2010.com/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=128&cntnt01returnid=64&cntnt01returnid=64 Alabama House of Representatives commends Peña Esclusa on his corageous stand against totalitarianism]". Retrieved 2010-07-15.</ref>

As a young engineer Peña Esclusa was attracted to the movement by Lyndon LaRouche, but he soon found himself disagreeing with their views and left the movement.<ref>Alejandro Peña Esclusa, "350 : Como salvar a Venezuela del castro comunismo"</ref>


===UnoAmerica===
===UnoAmerica===
In December 2008 Peña Esclusa co-founded UnoAmerica as "the ideological antithesis of the [[Sao Paulo Forum]]",<ref>[[FrontPage Magazine]], 18 March 2009, [http://archive.frontpagemag.com/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=34364 Unholy Alliance to the South]</ref><ref name=unoam/> becoming its President.<ref name=PdV/><ref>{{es}} UnoAmerica, 13 July 2010, [http://www.unoamerica.org/unoPAG/noticia.php?id=965 UnoAmérica rechaza la detención ilegal de Alejandro Peña Esclusa]</ref>
In December 2008 Peña Esclusa co-founded [[UnoAmerica]] as "the ideological antithesis of the [[Sao Paulo Forum]]",<ref>[[FrontPage Magazine]], 18 March 2009, [http://archive.frontpagemag.com/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=34364 Unholy Alliance to the South]</ref><ref name=unoam/> becoming its President.<ref name=PdV/><ref>{{es}} UnoAmerica, 13 July 2010, [http://www.unoamerica.org/unoPAG/noticia.php?id=965 UnoAmérica rechaza la detención ilegal de Alejandro Peña Esclusa]</ref> UnoAmerica is an umbrella organization for a large number of pro-democracy organizations in Latin America with the goal of stopping the spread of [[Socialism of the 21st century]], which is denounced as being carried out through the unconstitutional dismantling of democratic institutions after winning democratic elections.


====Support for Honduras interim government====
====Support for Honduras interim government====
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In November 2009 he was decorated with the "José Cecilio del Valle" medal by President Micheletti.<ref>Noticias de Servicios de Relaciones Exteriores de la Republica de Honduras, December 2009, http://www.sre.hn/Noticias/Diciembre/Ceremonia_de_Condecoracion_Orden_de_Jose_Cecilio_del_Valle.pdf</ref> Others decorated on that occasion were [[Armando Valladares]] and [[Juan Dabdoub Giacoman]], who also had expressed public support for Honduras.<ref>''Está en total desacuerdo con lo que publicaron sobre Honduras'', open letter to Thor Halvorseen, published in Nicaragua Hoy 2009-07-07, retrieved 2-10-07-16, http://www.nicaraguahoy.info/dir_cgi/topics.cgi?op=view_topic;cat=Documentos;id=57239</ref><ref>El mundo tropezó con Honduras, Estrategia & Negocios, 2009-08-21, retrieved 2010-07-16, http://estrategiaynegocios.net/vernoticia.aspx?option=2275</ref>
In November 2009 he was decorated with the "José Cecilio del Valle" medal by President Micheletti.<ref>Noticias de Servicios de Relaciones Exteriores de la Republica de Honduras, December 2009, http://www.sre.hn/Noticias/Diciembre/Ceremonia_de_Condecoracion_Orden_de_Jose_Cecilio_del_Valle.pdf</ref> Others decorated on that occasion were [[Armando Valladares]] and [[Juan Dabdoub Giacoman]], who also had expressed public support for Honduras.<ref>''Está en total desacuerdo con lo que publicaron sobre Honduras'', open letter to Thor Halvorseen, published in Nicaragua Hoy 2009-07-07, retrieved 2-10-07-16, http://www.nicaraguahoy.info/dir_cgi/topics.cgi?op=view_topic;cat=Documentos;id=57239</ref><ref>El mundo tropezó con Honduras, Estrategia & Negocios, 2009-08-21, retrieved 2010-07-16, http://estrategiaynegocios.net/vernoticia.aspx?option=2275</ref>


==Response from the government of Venezuela==
⚫
==2010 Arrest on Terrorism Charges==

⚫
The strong and sustained criticism by Peña Esclusa against Hugo Chávez, Castro's Cuba, and their involvement in Venezuela's government, has led to him becoming a prime target of defamation by said government. According to the website of the Venezuelan Ministry of Information and Communication, Peña Esclusa was the head of a radical conservative and anti-communist Christian sect, the ''[[Tradición, Familia y Propiedad]]'' (TFP) which was banned in 1984 when plans were discovered to murder Pope [[John Paul II]] during a visit to Venezuela.<ref name=MINCI>{{es}} Ministerio del Poder Popular para la Informacion y la Comunicacion, Gobierno Bolivariano de Venezuela, 13 July 2010, [http://www.vtv.gob.ve/noticias-nacionales/39578 Conozca el PRONTUARIO de Alejandro Peña Esclusa], retrieved 2010-07-17</ref> The Ministry said that according to security reports, members of TFP had travelled to the United States to conspire to assassinate President [[Ronald Reagan]]. Peña Esclusa has always denied any links with TFP.<ref>{{es}}, Noticias24.com, 15 May 2008, [http://www.noticias24.com/actualidad/noticia/14244/la-sospechosa-aparicion-de-pena-esclusa-en-la-rueda-de-prensa-de-interpol/ Peña Esclusa explica por qué “apareció” en la rueda de prensa de Interpol]</ref><ref>"No he formé parte de la TFP" (quote from Ch. 17 in Peña Esclusa's book "350 : Como salvar a Venezuela del castro comunismo")</ref>

⚫
The Venezuelan Ministry of Information and Communication also claimed links between Peña Esclusa and rightwing individuals and organizations in other countries, including [[Lyndon LaRouche]].<ref name=MINCI/> In 1985 he helped distribute LaRouche's book ''Narcotráfico, S.A.'',<ref name=PdV/> and by 1988 he was the leader of the [[Partido Laboral Venezolano]] (PLV, Venezuelan Labor Party), a party which he co-founded as the Venezuelan branch of LaRouche's [[International Caucus of Labor Committees]], modelled on LaRouche's [[U.S. Labor Party]].<ref>{{es}} Aporrea, 14 July 2010, [http://www.aporrea.org/actualidad/a104033.html Para aquellos que no saben quien es Alejandrito]</ref><ref>Jarkow Institute/[[ADL]], January 1988, [http://lyndonlarouche.org/larouche-latin-america-ADL.PDF The LaRouche Network in Latin America]</ref> He split with LaRouche in 1988, when LaRouche was imprisoned in the United States.<ref>{{es}}, ''[[Agencia Venezolana de Noticias]]'', 13 July 2010, [http://www.avn.info.ve/node/4704 Captura del terrorista Chávez Abarca fue silenciada por empresas privadas de prensa]</ref> LaRouche's ''[[Executive Intelligence Review]]'' described him as a "[[LaRouche movement]] deserter" in 2009.<ref>''[[Executive Intelligence Review]]'', 2 June 2009, [http://www.larouchepub.com/eiw/public/2009/2009_20-29/2009_20-29/2009-22/ibero.html Brits Jack Up Separatist Movement in Ibero-America]</ref>
⚫
The Venezuelan Ministry of Information and Communication website accused Peña Esclusa of links with an alleged CIA campaign to ensure a "no" vote in the 2007 referendum on constitutional changes.<ref name=MINCI/>

⚫
In June 2009, Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Relations, [[Nicolás Maduro]], described Peña Esclusa as a man that "has spent his life tied to the CIA and numerous violent movements including the 2002 military coup [against president Hugo Chávez] and a member of violent right-wing groups that moved about Central America for long periods alongside [[Luis Posada Carriles]], a terrorist protected by the North American justice system and wanted in Venezuela."<ref name=VA150710/>

⚫
===2010 Arrest on Terrorism Charges===
On July 12, 2010, Peña Esclusa posted a video online denying accusations (made on [[Venezolana de Televisión]]) of links to alleged terrorist Francisco Chávez Abarca (convicted for his role in the [[1997 Cuba hotel bombings]] in December 2010) and said that he expected to be arrested within a day.<ref>Peña Esclusa, "Why does Chávez link Peña Esclusa to terrorism?" Part I (Video with English subtitles), retrieved 2010-07-15, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQm0OO3G_jQ</ref><ref>Peña Esclusa, "Why does Chávez link Peña Esclusa to terrorism?" Part II (Video with English subtitles), retrieved 2010-07-15, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlDmtMw4DhY&feature=related</ref> On the same evening he was arrested in his home by Venezuela's political police [[SEBIN]] for possession of explosives.<ref name="cnn1" /> Peña Esclusa's wife claimed that search officers planted explosives in the desk of the couple's 8-year old daughter.<ref name="ap1" >[[Associated Press]], [[ABC News]], 13 July 2010, [http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=11154683 Chavez Opponent Detained in Venezuela]</ref> His lawyer, Alfredo Romero, accused the 13 members of the political police of violating his client's constitutional rights at the search and arrest by not allowing his lawyer to be present or to inspect the search order. Luis Cabrera, the presiding judge, ruled that the presence of the lawyer could lead to [[impunity]], to which Romero commented, "This court has declared dead the right to defense in Venezuela." <ref name=laverdad37828/>
On July 12, 2010, Peña Esclusa posted a video online denying accusations (made on [[Venezolana de Televisión]]) of links to alleged terrorist Francisco Chávez Abarca (convicted for his role in the [[1997 Cuba hotel bombings]] in December 2010) and said that he expected to be arrested within a day.<ref>Peña Esclusa, "Why does Chávez link Peña Esclusa to terrorism?" Part I (Video with English subtitles), retrieved 2010-07-15, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQm0OO3G_jQ</ref><ref>Peña Esclusa, "Why does Chávez link Peña Esclusa to terrorism?" Part II (Video with English subtitles), retrieved 2010-07-15, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlDmtMw4DhY&feature=related</ref> On the same evening he was arrested in his home by Venezuela's political police [[SEBIN]] for possession of explosives.<ref name="cnn1" /> Peña Esclusa's wife claimed that search officers planted explosives in the desk of the couple's 8-year old daughter.<ref name="ap1" >[[Associated Press]], [[ABC News]], 13 July 2010, [http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=11154683 Chavez Opponent Detained in Venezuela]</ref> His lawyer, Alfredo Romero, accused the 13 members of the political police of violating his client's constitutional rights at the search and arrest by not allowing his lawyer to be present or to inspect the search order. Luis Cabrera, the presiding judge, ruled that the presence of the lawyer could lead to [[impunity]], to which Romero commented, "This court has declared dead the right to defense in Venezuela." <ref name=laverdad37828/>


Revision as of 14:59, 4 April 2011

Alejandro Peña Esclusa (born 3 July 1954[1]) is a Venezuelan politician, leader of the Venezuelan NGO Fuerza Solidaria (since May 2001) and president of the pan-Latin-American NGO UnoAmérica (since December 2008).[2][3] He was a columnist for the newspapers Ultimas Noticias and Diario de Caracas (1988 to 1998),[1] and has been a correspondent for Argentina's La Nueva Provincia.[4]

He has become known as a detractor of Hugo Chávez and his socialist Bolivarian Revolution. He is currently in jail on terrorism-related charges, supporters say the arrest is for political reasons.[5][6]

Early life

Peña Esclusa was born 3 July 1954 in Washington, D.C., the son of a Venezuelan Army General, Enrique Peña Briceño.[1] He graduated in mechanical engineering from the Universidad Simón Bolívar in 1977, and in 1980 obtained a postgraduate degree in finance from the Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Administración (IESA).[1] In 1978 he won the national karate championships, and in 1981 gained a civil aviation licence.[1]

He married Indira Ramírez in 1989, and had three daughters.[1]

Political career

Peña Esclusa has been an opponent of Hugo Chávez ever since he denounced Chávez for being a front man for Fidel Castro in a 1994 book.[7] He published an article in 1995 attacking the Foro de São Paulo, which Chávez' Fifth Republic Movement joined that year.[1] Peña Esclusa entered the Venezuelan presidential election, 1998 as a candidate for the Partido Laboral Venezolano (PLV).[8] Announcing his candidacy in July 1998, with Chavez already the front runner, he aimed to denounce Chavez and warn of the dangers of electing him.[9] He received less than 0.1% of the vote. On 28 July 2000 Peña Esclusa formally accused Chávez of treason, denouncing him to the Fiscal General, which rejected the claim.[1][10]

In May 2001 Peña Esclusa founded the NGO Fuerza Solidaria.[11] This organization coined the slogan "no to cubanization", and organised a range of political protests against Chávez, including a demonstration in front of the Cuban embassy.[1] In February 2002 Peña Esclusa, on behalf of Fuerza Solidaria, called for the general strike being organised to be indefinite, until Chávez resigned.[1][12] Following the mass demonstration of April 11, 2002, and the 2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt that resulted, he was briefly detained on suspicion of links to military officers allegedly involved in what has been described as an attempted coup.[13] Peña Esclusa himself has expressly denounced violence as a method, and said that he does not believe that violence can end Hugo Chávez's government, but that a peaceful mass movement can.[14]

Traveling North and South America as well as Europe, Peña Esclusa has claimed that Chávez was allowing Russia and Iran to use Venezuela as a base for strategic bombers, submarines, warships, and long range missiles capable of reaching the United States. He has also alleged crimes against humanity perpetrated by the regime, and links with terrorist groups.[15]

On March 23, 2010, Peña Esclusa's strong opposition to the Venezuelan president was lauded by the Alabama state legislature, which took up a resolution commending his actions.[16]

UnoAmerica

In December 2008 Peña Esclusa co-founded UnoAmerica as "the ideological antithesis of the Sao Paulo Forum",[17][18] becoming its President.[1][19] UnoAmerica is an umbrella organization for a large number of pro-democracy organizations in Latin America with the goal of stopping the spread of Socialism of the 21st century, which is denounced as being carried out through the unconstitutional dismantling of democratic institutions after winning democratic elections.

Support for Honduras interim government

UnoAmerica, a continent-wide umbrella organization created to oppose leftist movements and political parties in the region in Latin America,[18] was one of the few organizations that endorsed as constitutional the deposing of president Manuel Zelaya in Honduras, which involved Zelaya being arrested by the military acting on orders by the Supreme Court, removed from office, and replaced by the person the constitution indicated as his successor, in this case the Speaker of the House Roberto Micheletti, as interim president.[20][21][22] Peña Esclusa endorsed as constitutional the deposing of Zelaya, and said that "Only a process similar to that of Honduras can rescue democracy and freedom in Venezuela".[23][24] He also said that “Venezuelans ought to be inspired by the Honduran model, and strive for a change of government as soon as possible, through peaceful, democratic, and constitutional means--and not just electoral--to avoid a national tragedy".[25]

In August 2009, Peña Esclusa formally accused Venezuela's president Hugo Chávez before the International Criminal Court of crimes against humanity for his support of Manuel Zelaya's illegal[26] attempt to hold a Constituting Constitutional Convention in Honduras (which sparked the 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis), and for threatening to invade the country to reinstall Zelaya after he was deposed on June 28, 2009.[27]

In November 2009 he was decorated with the "José Cecilio del Valle" medal by President Micheletti.[28] Others decorated on that occasion were Armando Valladares and Juan Dabdoub Giacoman, who also had expressed public support for Honduras.[29][30]

Response from the government of Venezuela

The strong and sustained criticism by Peña Esclusa against Hugo Chávez, Castro's Cuba, and their involvement in Venezuela's government, has led to him becoming a prime target of defamation by said government. According to the website of the Venezuelan Ministry of Information and Communication, Peña Esclusa was the head of a radical conservative and anti-communist Christian sect, the Tradición, Familia y Propiedad (TFP) which was banned in 1984 when plans were discovered to murder Pope John Paul II during a visit to Venezuela.[31] The Ministry said that according to security reports, members of TFP had travelled to the United States to conspire to assassinate President Ronald Reagan. Peña Esclusa has always denied any links with TFP.[32][33]

The Venezuelan Ministry of Information and Communication also claimed links between Peña Esclusa and rightwing individuals and organizations in other countries, including Lyndon LaRouche.[31] In 1985 he helped distribute LaRouche's book Narcotráfico, S.A.,[1] and by 1988 he was the leader of the Partido Laboral Venezolano (PLV, Venezuelan Labor Party), a party which he co-founded as the Venezuelan branch of LaRouche's International Caucus of Labor Committees, modelled on LaRouche's U.S. Labor Party.[34][35] He split with LaRouche in 1988, when LaRouche was imprisoned in the United States.[36] LaRouche's Executive Intelligence Review described him as a "LaRouche movement deserter" in 2009.[37]

The Venezuelan Ministry of Information and Communication website accused Peña Esclusa of links with an alleged CIA campaign to ensure a "no" vote in the 2007 referendum on constitutional changes.[31]

In June 2009, Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Relations, Nicolás Maduro, described Peña Esclusa as a man that "has spent his life tied to the CIA and numerous violent movements including the 2002 military coup [against president Hugo Chávez] and a member of violent right-wing groups that moved about Central America for long periods alongside Luis Posada Carriles, a terrorist protected by the North American justice system and wanted in Venezuela."[23]

2010 Arrest on Terrorism Charges

On July 12, 2010, Peña Esclusa posted a video online denying accusations (made on Venezolana de Televisión) of links to alleged terrorist Francisco Chávez Abarca (convicted for his role in the 1997 Cuba hotel bombings in December 2010) and said that he expected to be arrested within a day.[38][39] On the same evening he was arrested in his home by Venezuela's political police SEBIN for possession of explosives.[5] Peña Esclusa's wife claimed that search officers planted explosives in the desk of the couple's 8-year old daughter.[40] His lawyer, Alfredo Romero, accused the 13 members of the political police of violating his client's constitutional rights at the search and arrest by not allowing his lawyer to be present or to inspect the search order. Luis Cabrera, the presiding judge, ruled that the presence of the lawyer could lead to impunity, to which Romero commented, "This court has declared dead the right to defense in Venezuela." [41]

Both sides linked this escalation of the political discourse to the upcoming parliamentary elections in Venezuela on September 26, 2010.[42][43]

Peña Esclusa was denied bail on July 15, 2010.[41] The preliminary hearings were held January 27, 2011, and on February 7 the defense appealed. The defense has consistently objected to the fact that the court has denied every request to order the presence of the star witness of the prosecutor for cross-examination (Francisco Chávez Abarca was sent to Cuba just before Peña Esclusa's arrest, in accordance with an Interpol red notice[44]).[45] The government only publishes their verdict, and never the appeal from the defense that they are denying, why the defense position is never reported objectively in official documents or state-controlled media.

On March 29, 2011, Indira de Peña Esclusa and other wives of prisoners of Chávez petitioned the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights that their husbands should be recognized as political prisoners by OAS.[46]

Books

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Template:Es Periodismo de Verdad, 5 August 2010, ¿Quién es y qué ha hecho Alejandro Peña Esclusa?
  2. ^ Fuerza Solidaria website, http://fuerzasolidaria.org/
  3. ^ UnoAmérica website, http://www.unoamerica.org/
  4. ^ Template:Es YVKE, 15 May 2008, Alejandro Peña Esclusa, el supuesto "periodista" del diario La Nueva Provincia de Argentina
  5. ^ a b "Venezuela: Opposition politician arrested on explosives charge". CNN. 2010-07-13. Retrieved 19 July 2010.
  6. ^ Libertad inmediata para Alejandro Peña Esclusa, preso político en Venezuela; UnoAmérica, retrieved 2010-07-19, http://www.unoamerica.org/unoPAG/videos.php?id=89
  7. ^ Statement by his wife Indira Ramirez de Peña in the TV program LA NOCHE, 2010-07-14, retrieved 2010-07-15, http://www.ruedalo.org/
  8. ^ Template:Es Aporrea, 14 July 2010, Para aquellos que no saben quien es Alejandrito
  9. ^ Template:Es Alejandro Peña Esclusa, 25 July 1998, Mi objetivo es evitar la guerra civil
  10. ^ Template:Es Fuerza Solidaria, 1 February 2002, Juicio contra Chávez por traición
  11. ^ Template:Es Fuerza Solidaria, Orígenes de Fuerza Solidaria
  12. ^ Template:Es Alejandro Peña Esclusa, Fuerza Solidaria, 6 February 2002, Folleto: Huelga Nacional “Chávez: ¡Vete ya!”
  13. ^ Associated Press, 13 July 2010, Chavez opponent detained in Venezuela
  14. ^ Template:Es Fuerza Solidaria, 12 July 2010, ¿Por qué Chávez vincula a Peña Esclusa con el terrorismo?, retrieved 2010-07-13
  15. ^ WorldNetDaily, 6 February 2011, "Man jailed for warning U.S. of al-Qaida danger", retrieved 2011-02-07
  16. ^ website of Robert J. Bentley, "Alabama House of Representatives commends Peña Esclusa on his corageous stand against totalitarianism". Retrieved 2010-07-15.
  17. ^ FrontPage Magazine, 18 March 2009, Unholy Alliance to the South
  18. ^ a b UnoAmerica, 15 December 2008, UnoAmerica against the Sao Paolo Forum, retrieved 2010-07-17
  19. ^ Template:Es UnoAmerica, 13 July 2010, UnoAmérica rechaza la detención ilegal de Alejandro Peña Esclusa
  20. ^ Comunicado dated 2009-06-28, The Supreme Court of Justice, Honduras, retrieved 2010-07-16, http://www.poderjudicial.gob.hn/NR/rdonlyres/D689C75F-8803-4730-A6AA-41A91F5D2A6D/2398/COMUNICADOSITUACIONENHONDCSJ.pdf
  21. ^ The Facts and the Law : Behind the Democratic Crisis of Honduras 2009, Human Rights Foundation, retrieved 2010-07-16, http://thehrf.org/HRF_TheFactsAndTheLaw_Honduras2009.pdf
  22. ^ Honduras:Constitutional Law Issues, The Law Library of [the US] Congress, http://schock.house.gov/UploadedFiles/Schock_CRS_Report_Honduras_FINAL.pdf
  23. ^ a b Venezuelanalysis.com, 15 July 2010, Venezuelan Right-Wing Opposition Figure Held on Terror Charges
  24. ^ Accuracy in Media, 10 July 2009, Honduras Can Be Saved from Communism: Interview with Head of Pro-Freedom Alliance in Latin America, interview transcript
  25. ^ "los venezolanos deben inspirarse en el modelo hondureño, y buscar un cambio de gobierno cuanto antes, por vías pacíficas, democráticas y constitucionales -y no solo electorales- para evitar una tragedia nacional" - UnoAmerica, retrieved 2010-07-17, “Venezolanos deben imitar a los hondureños”
  26. ^ COMUNICACION JUDICIAL No 33, JUZGADO DE LETRAS CONTENCIOSO ADMINISTRATIVO, Republica de Honduras, C.A., scanned copy, retrieved 2010-07-17, http://blog.erlingsson.com/bloggbilder/ComunicadoJudicialNo33.pdf
  27. ^ Template:Es Fuerza Solidaria, 4 August 2009, UnoAmérica in The Hague announces trial against Chavez, retrieved 2010-07-15
  28. ^ Noticias de Servicios de Relaciones Exteriores de la Republica de Honduras, December 2009, http://www.sre.hn/Noticias/Diciembre/Ceremonia_de_Condecoracion_Orden_de_Jose_Cecilio_del_Valle.pdf
  29. ^ Está en total desacuerdo con lo que publicaron sobre Honduras, open letter to Thor Halvorseen, published in Nicaragua Hoy 2009-07-07, retrieved 2-10-07-16, http://www.nicaraguahoy.info/dir_cgi/topics.cgi?op=view_topic;cat=Documentos;id=57239
  30. ^ El mundo tropezó con Honduras, Estrategia & Negocios, 2009-08-21, retrieved 2010-07-16, http://estrategiaynegocios.net/vernoticia.aspx?option=2275
  31. ^ a b c Template:Es Ministerio del Poder Popular para la Informacion y la Comunicacion, Gobierno Bolivariano de Venezuela, 13 July 2010, Conozca el PRONTUARIO de Alejandro Peña Esclusa, retrieved 2010-07-17
  32. ^ Template:Es, Noticias24.com, 15 May 2008, Peña Esclusa explica por qué “apareció” en la rueda de prensa de Interpol
  33. ^ "No he formé parte de la TFP" (quote from Ch. 17 in Peña Esclusa's book "350 : Como salvar a Venezuela del castro comunismo")
  34. ^ Template:Es Aporrea, 14 July 2010, Para aquellos que no saben quien es Alejandrito
  35. ^ Jarkow Institute/ADL, January 1988, The LaRouche Network in Latin America
  36. ^ Template:Es, Agencia Venezolana de Noticias, 13 July 2010, Captura del terrorista Chávez Abarca fue silenciada por empresas privadas de prensa
  37. ^ Executive Intelligence Review, 2 June 2009, Brits Jack Up Separatist Movement in Ibero-America
  38. ^ Peña Esclusa, "Why does Chávez link Peña Esclusa to terrorism?" Part I (Video with English subtitles), retrieved 2010-07-15, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQm0OO3G_jQ
  39. ^ Peña Esclusa, "Why does Chávez link Peña Esclusa to terrorism?" Part II (Video with English subtitles), retrieved 2010-07-15, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlDmtMw4DhY&feature=related
  40. ^ Associated Press, ABC News, 13 July 2010, Chavez Opponent Detained in Venezuela
  41. ^ a b Template:Es La Verdad, 15 July 2010, Dictan medida privativa de libertad a Peña Esclusa, retrieved 2010-07-17
  42. ^ Video: Peña Esclusa, preso político en Venezuela, Fuerza Solidaria, retrieved 2010-07-19, http://fuerzasolidaria.org/?p=3200
  43. ^ Chávez Abarca planeaba ola de atentados contra elecciones en Venezuela, afirma Ministro del Interior, CubaDebate, retrieved 2010-07-19, http://www.cubadebate.cu/noticias/2010/07/04/chavez-abarca-realizaria-atentados-contra-elecciones-regionales-venezuela/
  44. ^ Agencia Venezolana de Noticias, 7 July 2010, Deported to Cuba Salvadorian terrorist Francisco Chavez Abarca
  45. ^ Expediente N° 6°C-14826-10 http://liberenlosya.com/?p=5253
  46. ^ Video recording at OAS http://www.oas.org/OASPage/videosasf/2011/03/CIDH_032911_SituacionAlegadosPresosPoliticosVenezuela.wmv

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