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Chavez Ally Turned Critic Slammed for Ties with Jews

[New York Times] Simon Romero - Venezuelan army commander Raul Isaias Baduel led the paratrooper raid that returned Hugo Chavez to office after he was briefly deposed by a coup in 2002. But Gen. Baduel broke with Chavez this month over proposed sweeping changes to the Constitution that, among other things, would abolish presidential term limits. Since going public with his criticism, Gen, Baduel, a Roman Catholic, has been criticized over his close friendships with members of the country's small Jewish community, many of whom are increasingly concerned about Chavez's growing alliance with Iran and the government's tense diplomatic relations with Israel. Gen. Baduel described his outreach to Jews as part of his "ecumenical" beliefs, but Tarek William Saab, the governor of Anzoategui state and an ally of the president, told the daily newspaper El Nacional: "He has been captured by the international ultra right wing, by international Zionism."
2007-11-23 01:00:00
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