The harsh story of the prominent army officer who sympathized with Chavismo and his companions found themselves undernourished and destitute

“It’s him Captain Montero Lema Carlos Alberto, my number 04144536366, if you could give me a call, I am a promotion partner ”is the last message found on Twitter, from September 20, 2016, from a serviceman whom they remember a lot as an excellent officer, and A few days ago, he was found in a state of destitution, unrecognizable, very thin and speaking incoherently. It is not known how long he has been like this, but his case has sparked controversy and outrage among members of the armed forces, especially since Montero is a defender of the Bolivarian revolution and has ceased to receive the medications he needs for prolonged treatment.

Montero Lema, born March 22, 1963, was number 10 in the 1984 army class “GB Juan Gómez Mireles”, which had 109 graduates, and from which also graduated, at n ° 9, the former minister and major general Miguel Rodríguez Torres, who has been in prison for more than three years in the hands of the General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence ( DGCIM) accused of treason against the fatherland.

In this promotion, in place Nr. 18, there is also the Minister of Defense, GJ Vladimir Padrino López. And another of the February 4 men who served as governor, deputy and key leader of the Chavismo, Francisco José Ameliach Orta.

Montero Lema holds a Bachelor of Science and Military Arts (AMV) and retired in 1998, due to partial and permanent disability, after suffering an accident in the acts of service.

One captain describes him as “the brightest spirit in his class, an exceptional teammate. Now with mental disorders, bipolarity, homeless peopleHe was taken to the Maracay hospital with the support of fellow graduates, then transferred and admitted to the Dr Carlos Arvelo military hospital ”.

Another officer is of the opinion that “He represents Venezuela today. Shame should give us everything “. Another thinks: “If it were not for the fact that many active reserve officers have children abroad who help them earn a living, there would be many more active reserve officers in need. . The situation of the active reserve with 10 $ of monthly remuneration is really regrettable ”.

“Montero Lema needs a lot more, continuous medical care, food, accommodation,” said another official. “It’s sad that an officer (whatever component) goes to such extremes. Treatment of bipolarity, for example, two drugs cost almost 30 euros, how does an army officer buy them, even a general, when the pension or the salary does not even reach that amount? These drugs are not available in Venezuela, nor provided by Ipsfa ”.

“Once the video and information on Montero Lema was made public, they went looking for him because of Padrino López’s nervousness, and he is already at the Dr Carlos Arvelo military hospital in Caracas. The big unknown is how long they will give him the drugs, in addition to the situation of thousands of other agents in precarious conditions ”.

“This is not the precise case of a retired officer, it is that there are thousands of malnourished officers and in precarious health, facing alarming salaries and / or pensions. Equally active officers forced to bribe in order to survive ”.

I did not recognize him

A captain named Parra said this causes her deep sadness and reflects what we are exposed to. 3 weeks ago a neighbor informed me that a man in a state of abandonment had approached in the area of ​​the fair grounds of Maracay. He was struck by how well he expressed himself because of what he indicated that he had received an education and when he looked into communication he told him that he was an officer of the armed forces, in particular of the army and with the rank of major general ”.

Parra recounts that his neighbor became defensive “but he continued to notice that in his expression there was the construction of meaningful sentences and he spoke fluently of his colleagues, including the current minister Padrino López. He showed me a picture he took, but I didn’t recognize him until he told me the name and I paired him up, it was Captain Carlos Montero Lema, a professional who worked with me at the Army Construction Directorate from 1998 to 2000 ”.

He explained that the said officer “was an excellent professional, a post at AMV and Basic. He was tasked with carrying out duties at the Iraqi-Kuwaiti border with the UN peacekeepers and there he suffered an accident (fall from an observation tower) where he found himself with numerous problems, especially on the mental side ”.

“When I heard about this, I contacted Lieutenant Colonel Alí Sosa, who worked under my command in Puerto Ayacucho and he activated his promotion until he was located. Yesterday they took him to the Salom Group and today they have to admit him to the Maracay military hospital ”.

A good officer

Colonel (ex) Antonio María Guevara Fernández, for his part, declares: “I do not know the ins and outs of the current case of Captain (ex) Carlos Montero Lema, who was found in a situation of destitution in Maracay and with a emotional image. I suppose he must already be hospitalized in an assistance center in the region, with the support of his comrades in arms who are in a situation of activity. Hopefully it is already taken care of ”.

Adding “but I knew Lieutenant Montero Lema until 1987. I was an instructor at the infantry school in the year of the Caldas corvette crisis. At the epicenter of the crisis, I was on vacation and they focused on the urgency of the case in Caracas from where I was assigned to the Carabobo Infantry Battalion in San Cristóbal (Táchira). From there I went with a company of rifles to the outskirts of San Pedro del Río, where I was responsible for being part of some General Outposts (PAGs) and establishing security vanguards on it. forehead “.

“Lieutenant Montero Lema at the time was my senior manager in the company. Without any reservation, until this moment I can describe that nothing that was carried out during this concentration, the deployment and the possibility of maneuvering with my fundamental unit in contact with the Colombian military forces at the front, has ceased. to have the will, the enthusiasm and the interest of Montero, to contribute with his commander to the control and the maintenance of the morale in the combat at this time ”.

He describes the man who was found without resources as one of those professionals “who are wondering what to do and how you leave him to their own devices, knowing he won’t let you down.” It was my experience with Lieutenant Montero in this operational benchmark, which was definitely excellent. Then I lost his trace ”.

“Montero had a great race while he was active. He was a staff officer at AMV (Venezuelan Military Academy) and Escubafan (Basic School of the Armed Forces), he was a military observer in Iraq appointed by the UN and also an instructor at the Infantry school. He retired in 1998 following a service accident. Until I saw him, on occasion, dressed in red flannel and supporting the revolution. And now, in this video which circulates, with the proof of a certain active emotional morbidity which tracks him in the contiguity of the third age ”.

And very bluntly, Colonel Guevara adds “it is no longer a question of firing an enemy’s weapon at a border post. These are fires at will against which there is no parapet or trench in the retirement stage of the institution: health “, of which he says” she was besieged by the deficiencies that the same revolution that it supported has built, destroying the excellent social security system which has been enjoyed with great efficiency in the recent institutional history of the National Armed Forces (Armed Forces) ”.

Consider that between this “It only remains to express that the enemy of the Venezuelans is not in front of San Pedro del Río in the state of Táchira, it is in Fort Tiuna, on the fifth floor from where you can see the hill. by Gato. And from that observation window, in an executive chair, in front of a glass of wine (probably a Petrus) and observing the rise of the scented, blue volutes of a guillotined Cohiba Presidente with precision, he commands the shots and everything. effective fire against the battery targeting his promotion partner Montero Lema, in all the military, among the Venezuelans and in the democracy, peace, freedom of the Latin American sub-region, Chief General Vladimir Padrino López, his partner promotion. Isn’t it sad?

Give up or react

Colonel Guevara remembers that “Recently, a press release from the Front Militaire Institutionnel (FIM) circulated, exposing the serious socio-economic situation faced by retired soldiers and active workers who are not connected (public administration, drug trafficking, etc.). This diagnosis is not unrelated to its impact on the rest of Venezuelans. “

“Hunger, insecurity, uncertainty about the future, family disintegration and a fracture of national unity push a Venezuela into poverty and with serious emotional problems. And add to that, the logistical tragedy of Covid and the stumbling blocks of the opposition leadership ”.

According to him, “faced with this dilemma, several avenues open; to be part of the diaspora, to abandon oneself to the emotionality of socio-economic deficiencies while awaiting the gifts of power or to react militarily inside and outside Venezuela ”.

The colonel considers that the case of Captain Montero “does not differ from that of all retired soldiers who punish daily for eating, buying their medicines, entering a health center or dying with dignity, as were the services rendered to the fatherland. “.

“Now neither red nor blue, without any color, at one point the military had a high level of acceptance and recognition in Venezuelan society, and at that time cases like Montero’s were an exception. Today, they are the rule. And the uniforms have a significant level of rejection. Without a doubt, it is sad, ”concludes Colonel Guevara.

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