lima , peru — a venezuelan military leader who admits he is a victim of government exploitation by president nelson chavez ' s government requested political asylum in colombia on monday , several of his lawyers said . pedro varela , a strong chavez opponent , has been charged with violence in venezuela but claimed his defense wil not be possible . lawyer javier valle - riestra said there is " convincing evidence " supporting his need for asylum and that peru ' s foreign department should summon andrade to give his request in a week . mexican defence minister jose antonio gomez belaunde said earlier tuesday that jimenez entered peru as a tourist on april 4 .
Rosales lost a presidential race to Chavez in 2006.