[News] US Military Aggression - drones against Venezuela

[Anti-Imperialist News]

US Military Aggression against Venezuela escalating

By Eva Golinger

Original at: 
<http://www.chavezcode.com/2009/12/us-military-aggression-against.html>http://www.chavezcode.com/2009/12/us-military-aggression-against.html

Caracas, 20 December – Venezuelan President Hugo 
Chávez revealed today on his Sunday television 
and radio program, Aló Presidente, that unmanned 
aerial vehicles (UAVs), also known as drones, 
have illegally entered Venezuela’s airspace 
during the past several days. “A few days ago, 
one of these military planes penetrated Venezuela 
as far as Fort Mara,” a Venezuelan military fort 
in the State of Zulia, bordering Colombia. The 
drone was seen by several Venezuelan soldiers who 
immediately reported the aerial violation to 
their superiors. President Chávez gave the order 
today to shoot down any drones detected in 
Venezuelan territory. Chávez also directly 
implicated Washington in this latest threat 
against regional stability by confirming that the drones were of US origin.

On Thursday, President Chávez denounced military 
threats against Venezuela originating from the 
Dutch islands Aruba and Curazao, situated less 
than 50 miles off Venezuela’s northwest coast. 
Both small islands host US air force bases as a 
result of a 1999 contract between Washington and 
Holland establishing US Forward Operating 
Locations (FOLs) in the Caribbean colonies. 
Originally, the contract stipulated US military 
presence in Aruba and Curazao solely for 
counternarcotics missions. However, since 
September 2001, Washington uses all its military 
installations to combat perceived terrorist 
threats around the world. The military bases in 
Aruba and Curazao have been used for 
intelligence, surveillance and reconnaisance 
missions against Venezuela during the past several years.

In 2006, Washington began conducting a series of 
high level military exercises using Curazao as 
the principal zone of operations. Hundreds of US 
aircraft carriers, warships, combat planes, Black 
Hawk helicopters, nuclear submarines and 
thousands of US military troops have been 
engaging in different military exercises and 
missions in the Caribbean region during the past 
three and a half years, causing substantial alarm 
and concern to nations in the region, 
particularly Venezuela, which has also been 
subject to hostile and aggressive diplomatic actions from Washington.

In 2008, the Pentagon reactivated the Navy’s 
Fourth Fleet, charged with defending US interests 
in the Latin American region. The Fourth Fleet 
was deactivated in 1950, after accomplishing its 
original defense mission during World War II. The 
fleet’s reactivation nearly 60 years later was 
perceived by a majority of nations in Latin 
America as a direct threat to regional 
sovereignty and provoked South American countries 
to establish a Defense Council to deal with 
external threats. The Pentagon responded by 
proudly admitting the Fourth Fleet’s reactivation 
was a “showing of US force and power in the 
region” and a demonstration that the US “will 
defend its regional allies”. This was perceived 
as direct support to Colombia, and an attempt to intimidate Venezuela.

On October 30, Colombia and the US signed a 
military cooperation agreement authorizing US 
occupation of seven military bases in Colombian 
territory and all other installations as 
required. The agreement is seen as the largest US 
military expansion in Latin American history. 
Although the two governments publicly justified 
the agreement as an increased effort to fight 
drug trafficking and terrorism, official US Air 
Force documents revealed that the US would 
conduct “full spectrum military operations” 
throughout South America from the Colombian 
bases. The Air Force documents also justified the 
disproportional military expansion as necessary 
to combat “the constant threat
from anti-US 
governments in the region”. The documents further 
revealed that the US presence in Colombia will 
increase the success of “Intelligence, 
Surveillance and Reconnaisance” operations and 
will improve the Pentagon’s capacity to conduct 
“expeditionary warfare” in Latin America.

Since 2006, Washington has classified Venezuela 
as a nation “not fully collaborating with the war 
against terror”. In 2005, Venezuela was labeled 
by the State Department as a nation “not 
cooperating with counter-narcotics operations”. 
Despite no substantive evidence to prove such 
dangerous accusations, the US has utilized these 
classifications to justify an increase in 
aggression towards the Venezuelan government. In 
2008, the Bush Administration attempted to place 
Venezuela on the list of State Sponsors of 
terrorism. The initiative was unsuccessful 
primarily because Venezuela is still a principal 
supplier of oil to the US. Should Washington 
consider Venezuela a terrorist state, all 
relations would be cut off, including oil supply.

Nevertheless, Washington still views Venezuela as 
a major threat to US interests in the region. The 
US is particularly concerned about Latin American 
nations engaging in commercial relations with 
countries such as China, Russia and Iran, 
perceived as economic threats to US control and 
domination in the region. Last week, Secretary of 
State Hillary Clinton issued a warning to 
countries in Latin America that have recently 
forged relations with Iran, such as Bolivia, 
Brazil, Nicaragua and Venezuela. “
I think that 
if people want to flirt with Iran, they should 
take a look at what the consequences might well 
be for them, and we hope that they will think 
twice
”, Clinton stated during remarks made 
regarding the State Department’s Latin American policy.

The Colombian government announced yesterday that 
a new military base will be built right near the 
border with Venezuela, with funding and equipment 
from the United States. Colombia’s Defense 
Minister Gabriel Silva also announced the 
activation of two air battalions at other border 
areas near Venezuela. The new military base, 
located in the Guajira peninsula, which borders 
the Venezuelan State of Zulia, would have up to 
1,000 troops and would also allow the presence of 
US armed forces and private military contractors. 
This announcement clearly ups the ante against Venezuela.

Today’s statements made by President Chávez 
regarding the US military drones discovered 
violating Venezuelan territory just days ago 
further escalate the growing tensions between 
Venezuela and Colombia. The MQ-1 Predator UAV, a 
type of combat drone, has been used over the past 
year in Afghanistan and Pakistan to assassinate 
suspect terrorists. The drones are equipped with 
Hellfire missiles and are capable of hitting 
ground targets in sensitive areas.

Venezuela is on high alert in the face of this 
dangerous threat. Chávez made the statements 
regarding the drone detection during the 
launching of the new National Police Force, a 
recently created communal police force directed 
at preventive security operations and community-based service.



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