Politics
Retired General Raúl Isaías Baduel, former Defense Minister, said that he was detained as instructed by President Hugo Chávez, and the corruption charges against him are actually for political reasons.

The president "uses the judiciary and other public branches as mercenaries to intimidate," Baduel told reporters on Friday.

Baduel was detained on Thursday and will appear in a military court on Friday. He is accused of corruption during his incumbency in 2006-2007.

The former Defense Minister and his relatives reported that his detention in Maracay, the capital city of central Aragua state, was violent.

"Such humiliation and outrage against me and my family took shape while the president is abroad, but he is the one who orders such intimidating actions," the retired military officer told Unión Radio, as quoted by AFP.

Military Attorney General Ernesto Cedeño confirmed on Friday the ex minister's detention, based on "enough grounds" for preventive arrest.

Baduel, together with Chávez, started the underground Bolivarian movement in the army in 1983. However, he did not take part in the coup attempts of 1992.