Politics-- Venezuela-style

What happens when you are a successful financial services entrepreneur in a country with a socialist government and a well-entrenched banking oligarchy? Well, if your name is Eligio Cedeno, and you have built a successful bank in Venezuela, you are in deep trouble. Eligio has spent the past year in jail on what can only be called a trumped-up charged, his constitutional rights repeatedly ignored, and his hearing to determine his status once again delayed indefinitely. (Full disclosure Eligio's company has hired me and Qorvis to help with some U.S. issues. I have never met Eligio, but have worked with his American colleagues).

I won't bother to go into the details of his initial arrest. It has to do with charges that he somehow illegally acted to bring American dollars into Venezuela. Suffice it to say the following: Cedeno has been denied his right to an impartial trial, right to reasonable bail, right to seek medical treatment, and right to present evidence in his defense. By every measure of fairness, the charges sure seem to be politically motivated and the Venezuelan Attorney General's case against Cedeno lacks any meaningful evidence necessary to uphold the charges before an impartial court. The case has been deferred indefinitely and a new date for the hearing has yet to be set.

How did Eligio get into this mess? My guess was that he was just too successful, so the existing powers in the banking industry teamed up with the Chavez government to take him down. Now, that is rank speculation on my part, but consider that as he has been languishing in jail, he was strong-armed into selling his bank at a severe discount. I guess when you are locked up you don't have much bargaining power.lies.

Here are the thoughts of Eligio's U.S.-based attorney, Victor Cerda: "The complete disregard for due process in the Venezuelan judicial system is appalling. More appalling is the fact that the Venezuelan prosecutors continue to hide from their own judicial system and the truth surrounding the baseless charges. It is time for the Venezuelan Governnment to set a trial date that will be respected and to put an end to Mr. Cedeno's persecution. Mr. Cedeno has cooperated with the Venezuelan legal system and remains steadfast in his desire to face his accusers and prove his innocence."

And the beat goes on.