Thus, when Hugo Chávez learned that the Spanish National Court had prosecuted several terrorists from ETA and FARC, including one whose wife was still employed by the Venezuelan State, he, always a respecter of the rule of law, mocked the entire situation and said, “history absolves me.” Some people have mistakenly attributed this statement to Fidel Castro, who made similar remarks during his trial after failing to overthrow Batista. However, the Cuban dictator was, in fact, drawing from Hitler’s own self-defense speech following his failed coup attempt, known as the Beer Hall Putsch.