Officer Held After Criticizing Venezuelan Leader

An air force colonel was arrested Friday after accusing President Hugo Chavez of illegally using patriotic symbols in his reelection bid, the second active military officer to publicly denounce the Venezuelan leader in less than a month.

The comments come amid reports that Chavez might be losing support in the armed forces ahead of presidential elections scheduled for July 30.

Shortly after appearing before the National Electoral Council to complain about Chavez, Col. Silvino Bustillos was detained at the air force headquarters in Caracas, the capital, said his lawyer, retired Col. Hidalgo Valero.

Bustillos criticized “unfair advantages by the president” and said Chavez was using the national anthem, the Venezuelan flag and other patriotic symbols in violation of electoral law.

Last week, Capt. Luis Garcia Morales was expelled from the National Guard for publicly calling for Chavez’s resignation.

In the past, midlevel officers, not the top brass, have been behind many of the conspiracies to overthrow governments here. Chavez himself was a lieutenant colonel when he led a botched coup attempt in 1992.

Vice President Isaias Rodriguez said Friday that the officers’ comments did not signal widespread discontent with Chavez in the armed forces. He called the denunciations “isolated cases.”

Chavez is up for reelection because of a new constitution he pushed through last year that requires most public offices to be “re-legitimized” through new balloting.

His main challenger, Francisco Arias Cardenas, also is a former military officer who helped him stage the 1992 coup attempt.