Perez’s Military Reshuffle May Not End Subversion

President Carlos Andres Perez’s restructuring of the military after last week’s coup attempt is unlikely to succeed in eradicating subversion within the armed forces, government and retired military officials said Tuesday.

They explained that support among mid-level officers for the coup leaders was so widespread that Perez cannot possibly weed out all of the rebels’ clandestine sympathizers.

In a statement that lacked details about other measures, Perez announced late Monday that he had ordered Defense Minister Fernando Ochoa to restructure the armed forces by rotating base commanders and other officers. Although Perez emphasized that he is not questioning officers’ loyalty, he said the shake-up is aimed at “neutralizing the natural negative impact” of the coup attempt.

At least 80 people were killed in the Feb. 3 uprising, led by mid-level officers from an elite paratrooper brigade. The now detained officers, commanded by Lt. Col. Hugo Chavez, said they planned to form a national front to save Venezuela from corrupt politicians.

On Monday, Perez named four new base commanders to replace those arrested in Caracas and in Valencia, Maracay and Maracaibo. He has portrayed the detained officers as a small fanatical group.

But others say continued widespread support for the rebels among mid-level officers will doom the president’s efforts to change the armed forces. “Only about 75% of those involved in planning the coup attempt actually participated in it,” said a retired senior officer who has kept in touch with several undiscovered rebels.

Although most people agree that Venezuela’s military high command was not involved in the coup attempt, resentment is running high against Perez in the ranks. Mid-level officers have seen their wages shrink, partly as a result of Perez’s economic austerity program. Such officers have much more influence over soldiers than do senior commanders, whose government perks, such as vehicles, make them vulnerable to charges of corruption.

“The mid-level officers live on the same bases with their men,” said a government official close to Perez. “Some of them may be involved in corrupt activities. But they are not seen as fat cats, like the senior officers who run around with gold rings on their fingers and wives dressed to the hilt.”

The official added that Perez faces the added problem of attacking a rebel movement with a vague ideology.