Action against Chávez for promoting foreign intervention in domestic affairs

Several opposition parties Friday filed a crime action against Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez in connection with remarks his Nicaraguan counterpart Daniel Ortega made in Venezuela recently.

Omar Estacio, legal adviser for opposition parties Alianza Bravo Pueblo, Acción Democrática, Copei, Visión Emergente, as well as a number of non-governmental organizations, said the claim came because Chávez allegedly encouraged Ortega -"a foreign citizen and President of a foreign country- to interfere in Venezuelan domestic affairs.

Estacio added that under the Venezuelan Crime Code, Chávez' attitude is a crime against the nation's independence and sovereignty, "as a Venezuelan citizen is asking for foreign intervention to settle domestic affairs."

According to Estacio, the Nicaraguan President did not come to Venezuela only show solidarity with Chávez -following his decision not to renew the broadcast license for private television station RCTV-, but also "insulted the Venezuelan youth, calling them tools of the oligarchy and imperialism."

Estacio stressed that under the Venezuelan Constitution the youth have the right to voice their opinion. "Therefore, the insults and attacks from a foreign citizen against our youth -many of them minors- not only are characterized as a crime, but involve a number of aggravating circumstances, as their integrity and honor were harmed."