Jesse Chacón

Jesse Alonso Chacón Escamillo (born 9 November 1965) was Venezuelan Minister of Interior and Justice from September 2004^[1] to January 2007,^[2] under the presidency of Hugo Chávez. He had been a close ally of Chávez since 1990 or earlier.^[3] He also held several other ministerial positions, until his December 2009 resignation due to the arrest of his brother in relation to a banking corruption scandal.

Chacón was born on 9 November 1965^[4] and studied Military Art and Sciences at the Military Academy of Venezuela (the 'Instituto Politécnico de la Fuerza Armada Nacional', or Polytechnic Institute of the National Armed Forces).^[4] As a lieutenant in the military, he participated in the November 1992 attempted coup (the second attempted coup of that year), for which he spent time in jail.

Chacón later became the General Director of the Venezuelan Telecommunication body "Conatel" under the 1999 presidency of Hugo Chávez. He held a number of roles besides Interior Minister (September 2004 - January 2007), including appointment as Minister of the Office of the President (2008), Minister of Communications and Information (December 2008 - April 2009) and Minister for Science and Technology (April - December 2009).^[5] His tenure as Interior Minister saw the launch of the National Commission on Police Reform (CONAREPOL), which surveyed the state of law enforcement in Venezuela and proposed reforms. The proposals led to the later creation of the Bolivarian National Police and Experimental Security University.

He resigned as Minister of Science and Technology on 6 December 2009, upon the arrest of his brother Arné Chacón in relation to a banking corruption scandal. He stated in media interviews, "I called the president and told him that in these conditions I would prefer to resign so that there would be no doubt about our transparency in this investigation".^[6]

Chacón remains the director of the polling company GIS XXI.^[7]

See also

• Cabinet of Hugo Chávez

References