Quico says: This is one of those tidbits that just beggars all belief: the trial of one-time Caracas security officials Lazaro Forero, Ivan Simonovis and Henry Vivas has now been delayed fifty times since it started 31 months ago, making it the longest trial in Venezuelan history.The amazing thing is that the trial - where the three are accused of plotting the mass murder of Chávez supporters on that crazy pre-coup afternoon of April 11th, 2002 - is basically over, but the prosecution has gone through every delaying tactic in the book to forestall a final decision. The defense has had to wait six months just for a chance to put forward its final arguments. The prosecution has blown through every permissible time-lag in COPP, they have no legal standing whatsoever to keep the defendants behind bars anymore. But they do. Could this have something to do with the fact that the prosecutor in charge of the case is the Interior Minister's sister?
This thing has mistrial written all over it...but Forero, Simonovis and Vivas are still rotting away in jail.
Hey, it's hardly the Gulag Archipelago, but make no mistake about it: these guys are political prisoners.
