His refusal to name names prompted angry outbursts from assembly members. ''The witness has been evading all the questions. It would seem that he is covering up,'' Assemblyman Tarek William Saab said.
''I will not compromise any political party or individual,'' Carmona said. ``No one forced me to name any particular person to a post, I was not compromised by anyone. My only commitment is to my conscience.''
The 60-year-old former chemical company executive said that he did not have a close relationship with Isaac Pérez Recao, a 32-year-old arms dealer who local press accounts have identified as a mover behind the coup and transition government.
''There is no relationship, neither of work, or of dependency nor a close friendship that could have existed beforehand,'' Carmona testified.
Pérez Recao, whose family owns 4.3 percent of the stock of Carmonas former employer Industrias Venoco, is believed to be lying low in Miami. A raid on his home last week revealed an arsenal of weapons and identification cards enabling him to enter Miraflores Palace during the dates of the transition government.***
Chavez was briefly removed from power last month as a result of a civilian-military coup, but he was quickly restored to power when the coup fizzled after key military units refused to support it. "I have important information about some people, who still believe they can persuade some military units to take part in a new adventure aimed at seizing power," Rangel told the commission that is probing last month's coup attempt. The defense minister did not name names or publicly present any specific evidence. But he indicated that his information was "well-founded" and came "from impeccable sources."***