Fernándo Ochoa Antich

Fernándo Ochoa Antich
Minister of Defense of Venezuela
In office
26 June 1991 – 11 June 1992
President Carlos Andrés Pérez
Preceded by Héctor Jurado Toro
Succeeded by Iván Darío Jiménez Sánchez
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Venezuela
In office
12 June 1992 – 2 February 1994
President Carlos Andres Perez (until '93)
Ramon J. Velasquez
Preceded by Humberto Calderón Berti
Succeeded by Miguel Ángel Burelli Rivas
Personal details
Born (1938-09-12) 12 September 1938
Caracas, Venezuela
Nationality Venezuelan
Profession General, lawyer, diplomat, politician

Fernando Antonio Ochoa Antich (born 12 September 1938)[1] is a Venezuelan lawyer, diplomat and politician, and retired general. He is a columnist with the El Universal newspaper.

Early life and education

Fernándo Ochoa Antich was born in 1938.[2] He earned his law degree from the Santa Maria University in 1989.

Career

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

In 1991, president Carlos Andres Perez named him Minister of Defense of Venezuela.

As Minister of Defense, Ochoa Antich had to face several coup d'état attempts in 1992. In January 1992, he began to respond to rumors that there was a coup d'etat being planned by Hugo Chavez, then a major in the military. Despite Ochoa Antich's advice that the matter be addressed directly, Perez dismissed the rumors.[2] On February 3, 1992, Perez returned from a trip to Switzerland, and when alerted about an uprising in Caracas, he neglected to inform Ochoa Antich, and instead went to rest, before moving several hours later to Miraflores Palace. Later that night,[3] on February 4 a group of military men led by Chavez attempted a coup against Pérez.[2] Chavez used tanks and paratroopers to take control of the palace and presidential residence.[3] When dealing with the crisis, Ochoa Antich remained the loyal defense minister of Perez. Although his actions resulted in quelling the conflict and saving the president's life, Ochoa Antich would later state that allowing Chavez to speak on public television was a "mistake," stating "I was responsible, I authored it, I was wrong," as it allowed Chavez to gain political success in the future[2] over Perez.[4]

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

In June 1992, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Venezuela Humberto Calderon Berti resigned when his Copei political party broke with Perez's administration. Defense Minister General Ochoa Antich was named to the position as Berti's replacement[5] on June 12, 1992, resigning from the Ministry of Defense.

After a trial concerning misappropriation of funds, the National Congress removed Pérez from office permanently on 31 August, 1993.[6] Ochoa Antich, however, retained his position in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs until February 2, 1994.

In 1994, when Ramon J. Velasquez was named president, Ochoa Antich was named ambassador to Mexico. He continued to hold the position as of 1996.[2] In 1998, he ran as a regional candidate for the governor elections of Zulia, but lost to Francisco Arias Cardenas.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Profile of Fernándo Ochoa Antich
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Marco, Daniel Garcia (February 5, 2017), ""A military failure, a political success": 2 opposing visions of the failed coup in Venezuela that created the figure of Hugo Chavez 25 years ago", BBC, retrieved February 27, 2017
  3. 1 2 "23 Years Ago Hugo Chávez Walked the Original Bolivarian Path", Gobierno Bolivariano de Venezuela, February 4, 2015, retrieved February 27, 2017
  4. ↑ Herrero, Ana Vanessa, "Ochoa Antich, the institutional face that allowed the "for now"", Noticias 24 (February 4), retrieved February 27, 2017
  5. ↑ "Outgoing minister says Venezuelan crisis continues", UPI, June 13, 1992, retrieved February 27, 2017
  6. ↑ Kada, Naoko (2003), "Impeachment as a punishment for corruption? The cases of Brazil and Venezuela", in Jody C. Baumgartner, Naoko Kada (eds, 2003), Checking executive power: presidential impeachment in comparative perspective, Greenwood Publishing Group
Political offices
Preceded by
Héctor Jurado Toro		 84th Minister of Defense of Venezuela
26 June 1991 – June 1992		 Succeeded by
Iván Jiménez Sánchez
Preceded by
Humberto Calderón Berti		 178th Minister of Foreign Affairs of Venezuela
12 June 1992 – 2 February 1994		 Succeeded by
Miguel Ángel Burelli Rivas
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