Cocchiola was candidate for the post of mayor of Venezuela’s third largest city, Valencia in Carabobo state but with municipal elections exactly three weeks away, it appears that he has now abandoned this ambition as well as abandoning the opposition parties and leaving them without a candidate in this key city. Last night President Nicolas Maduro, after being officially informed by Carabobo governor Francisco Ameliach of Cocchiola’s flight, appealed to the leaders of the Venezuelan right wing to bring Cocchiola back to the country. He should be present while the investigation continues into his multimillion dollar businesses and be prepared to face any charges related to the crimes for which he could be responsible. We see little chance of this happening and do not expect the three political leaders on the opposition Ramón Guillermo Aveledo, Henry Ramos Allup or Alfonso Marquina to even utter a word in support of Cocchiola and this is a certain vote loser. There are many fugitives from Venezuelan justice in Lima, Bogotá, Miami, Panama and Madrid for crimes as diverse as corruption, theft of public money, usury and terrorism. - Arturo Rosales Axis of Logic |
