Venezuela: Makled's witnesses

The bigwigs will not declare in Makled's trial court. General Clíver Alcalá Cordones was not admitted to the witness list. Some other counted on the same luck: Vice-Minister of Prevention and Citizen Security, Néstor Reverol, the former President of the National Institute of Civil Aviation, Giuseppe Yofreda, and a cousin of the Minister of Interior and Justice, Tarek El Aissami.

None of them was admitted -in August of the previous year- at the end of the preliminary hearing that decided whether Walid Makled, three of his brothers and seven of his employees, deserved to be prosecuted because of the almost 400 cocaine bars that appeared in 2008 in his farm located in Carabobo state.

Although defense lawyers produced these and other attestations, Judge Domingo Arteaga rubbed out all the names that share direct link with the government from the case file, for deeming it "neither relevant nor necessary for clarifying the punishable offences."

Only one from the 11 accused has declared guilty of charge. When foreman of the ranch, Luis José González, was asked if he admitted charges against him for smuggling, conspiracy and hiding of firearms; he answered yes.



http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/120428/makleds-witnesses