NYTIMES/ Several recent high-profile arrests using security and intelligence agencies have been made by President Hugo Chavez to punish challenges to his rule. The arrests seem aimed at Chávez’s most vocal critics ahead of September's elections; they also illustrate Chávez’s attempts to control the judiciary. “The government is fraudulently inventing conspiracies, assassination plots and national emergencies,” said Mr. Álvarez Paz, the former presidential candidate, who was charged with conspiracy.
