Hugo Chávez just sent to prison his former best buddy, Raul Baduel:
Critic of Chavez Gets 8-Year Prison Sentence
Raul Baduel was sentenced by a military court to seven years and 11 months behind bars for “stealing funds of the armed forces, abuse of authority and crimes against military honor,” according to a statement from state-run VTV television station.
As you may recall, Baduel was arrested in April last year. He was instrumental on defeating the 2007 referendum allowing Chávez to run indefinitely for office (the referendum was resubmitted last year and passed).
This is the guy who sprung Chávez from jail and restored him to power after the 2002 coup. He’ll have plenty of time to reconsider that decision.
Noticias 24 has more (in Spanish).
To those of you familiar with Cuban history, does this make Baduel the new Camilo Cienfuegos, or the new Huber Matos?
Prior posts on Baduel here.
