Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-10-06
VENEZUELA
/ Military Trials Set
| For Extremist Foes

Continued From Page Al
more deputies in the 2s-man
Communist and extreme left
delegation in Congress. All are
in hiding.
At the same time, the au-
tonomous Central University
in this mountain capital
considered the main base for
young terrorists-has been sur
rounded by police. Cars en-
tering and leaving are being
searched.
This weeks work repre-
sents the elimination of the
struggle of Venezuelan democ-
racy against communism, said
Manuel Mantilla, the young
Interior Minister and leader Of
the presidential cabinet, in an
exclusive interview with The
Star. THE Betancourt govern
ment is determined to preserve
the electoral process in this
country.
Political Campaign
Here Mr.. Mantilla touched
on what is certainly the CEN
trail reason for the breakdown.
Venezuela is engaged in heat
ed political campaign to elect
a new president and congress
on December /. Extremists Of
the left. who have been barred
by both the government and
the Supreme Court from par
ticipating in the elections, have
been doing everything in their
power to sabotage them.
They are not strong enough
to overthrow the government,
but lightning commando
raids" on banks and oil pipe
lines. police assassinations and
scare bombings in the big cities
are calculated to undermine
faith in democratic government
and provoke a military coup
d'etat to restore law and or
der.
These tactics were beginning !
TO have some success. Over the |
past six months, military lead
ers have grown increasingly
impatient with creeping law
leSsness. Tensions have in
creased enormously. The wan
ton FALN attack last Sunday
on an excursion train of wom-
en- and children which killed
five National Guardsmen-the
elite fourth arm" of the mill
tary here-finally set off gov
action.
But even with the new mill
tary Intervention, the terrorists
kept up a running street gun
battle most Of Friday, which
killed three people here.
Caribbean Events a Factor
The rapid-fire military coup /
d'etats in the Dominican Re-
public and Honduras around
the Caribbean also helped eoad .
the government into action. |
Although they publicly deny it,
Venezuelan officials are all too
aware that the anti COMMIT
mist pretext for overthrowing
civil government has as much
potential appeal to the mill
tary here as it had in Hon
duras and the Dominican Re-
public.
But in the Eyes of most OBJ
servers, President Betancourt
has sized up these dangers and
again proved himself a master
politician. With skillful timing,
he has engaged his own mill
tary in a stern anti ommunist
breakdown, which at one stroke
eliminates their case against
him. He has also waited long
enough to allow popular re-
sentiment against the Commu-
mist terror to build up and
thereby give him strong civil
ian political support for action.
In fact, President Betancourt
waited so long. and his new use
OF military courts for civilians
and the stripping of parlia-
immunity from ex-
tremist deputies corresponds so
closely to what the military
has long demanded, that the
rumor-hungry capital is al
ready buzzing with talk of a
cold coup d'etat," putting the
in informal command
of the government.
Control Emphasized
But government officials en-
phatically maintain that the
president is in full control, with
civilians giving orders, and no
one with any authority disputes
their argument.
THE President was away
from the capital on his yacht