Raul Baduel, a former defense minister, found himself in jail after a dispute with Venezuela’s president.

By SIMON ROMERO

LOS TEQUES, Venezuela - They say prison life can be lonely, but not for Raul Isaias Baduel, Venezuela’s former army chief and once one of President Hugo Chavez’s confidants, who was detained in April.

Among his cellmates in the Ramo Verde military prison here are a former admiral, Carlos Millan, and Wilfredo Barroso, a onetime general arrested along with Mr.Millan on charges of conspiring to oust Mr.Chavez.

Since February, Mr.Chavez has moved against a wide range of domestic critics, and his efforts in recent weeks to strengthen his grip on the armed forces have led to high-profile arrests and a wave of reassignments.

These are seen here as part of a larger effort by Mr.Chavez to cement loyalty in the military, where some officers are growing resentful at what they see as his micromanagement and politicizing of a proud and relatively independent institution.

“Chavez does not have the support he thinks he has in the armed forces,’’ Mr.Baduel, 53, said in an interview in the cell that has become his home since agents from the military intelligence service arrested him.

In March, Mr.Chavez replaced the chiefs of the army, the air force and the Bolivarian Militia, a Cuban-inspired reserve force created to repel what Mr.Chavez repeatedly raises as the threat of an invasion by the United States.

During the same wave of dismissals, Mr.Chavez also fired his defense minister, General Gustavo Rangel Briceno. On May 28, intelligence agents detained another former officer, Otto Gebauer, a retired captain who was ordered to hold Mr.Chavez during a brief coup in April 2002. Mr.Gebauer, who had angered Mr.Chavez by saying the president cried during the 48-hour coup, was accused of violating the terms of his house arrest, his wife said.

The authority of as many as 800 military officers was stripped away last year after doubts surfaced over their loyalty to Mr.Chavez, according to news reports. In recent months, the crackdown has been extended to the civilian arena. Manuel Rosales, the president’s opponent in the 2006 elections, sought asylum in Peru after being faced with corruption charges, and Mr.Chavez handpicked a new mayor for Caracas after legislators eliminated most of the budget of the elected mayor, Antonio Ledezma. The arrest of Mr.Baduel is a reflection of how much has changed in Venezuela, especially since oil prices plunged last summer. A few years ago, a rift between Mr.Chavez and him would have seemed unimaginable. But after retiring as defense minister, Mr.Baduel broke with Mr.Chavez in 2007. He publicly criticized the president’s proposal to overhaul the Constitution and transform Venezuela into a socialist state with greatly expanded presidential authority. The measure was rejected by voters in December 2007, and Mr.Baduel emerged as a prominent voice of dissent.

As often happens with Mr.Chavez’s critics, Mr.Baduel found himself under the scrutiny of the justice system. A military prosecutor said he was responsible for about $14 million that disappeared during his tenure as defense minister, and the military intelligence directorate sent agents to follow his every move. Mr.Baduel says he is innocent.

Notwithstanding the quiet deference to Mr.Baduel by his military jailers, he says he has no option but to wait. “I won’t leave this prison,’’ Mr.Baduel said, “until Chavez leaves the presidency of Venezuela.’’


María Eugenia Díaz contributed reporting from Caracas, Venezuela.