CARACAS — During a speech on Saturday, Venezuela's autocratic president Hugo Chavez announced that he was replacing his military intelligence chief, General Hugo Carvajal, one of his most trusted security chiefs.
Carvajal was also one of three Chavez confidantes that were named by the U.S. Treasury Department as having aided the Colombian FARC terrorist group in its narcotrafficking and arms trafficking operations.
Chavez announced that General Wilfredo Figueroa Chacin would replace Carvajal as the new chief of Venezuela’s military intelligence agency.
Chavez has denied the accusations made against Carvajal, but he did not say during the speech what post the former chief would now occupy.
As the October 2012 election draws closer, many expect to see Chavez make changes at the top levels of his administration, both to maximize his human resources for strengthening his campaign, as well as to place those most trusted to hold the most powerful positions in the event that he is incapacitated or succumbs to his cancer prior to the election.
