[News] Fact Not Fiction - US Aggression Against Venezuela

[Anti-Imperialist News]

February 26, 2015
*http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/02/26/us-aggression-against-venezuela/*

*Fact Not Fiction*


  US Aggression Against Venezuela

by EVA GOLINGER

Recently, several different spokespersons for the Obama administration 
have firmly claimed the United States government is not intervening in 
Venezuelan affairs. Department of State spokeswoman Jen Psaki 
<http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2015/02/237650.htm> went so far as to 
declare, “The allegations made by the Venezuelan government that the 
United States is involved in coup plotting and destabilization are 
baseless and false.” Psaki then reiterated a bizarrely erroneous 
statement she had made during a daily press briefing just a day before: 
“The United States does not support political transitions by 
non-constitutional means”.

Anyone with minimal knowlege of Latin America and world history knows 
Psaki’s claim is false, and calls into question the veracity of any of 
her prior statements. The U.S. government has backed, encouraged and 
supported coup d’etats in Latin America and around the world for over a 
century. Some of the more notorious ones that have been openly 
acknowledged by former U.S. presidents and high level officials include 
coup d’etats against Mohammed Mossadegh in Iran in 1953, Jacobo Arbenz 
in Guatemala in 1954, Patrice Lumumba in the Congo in 1960, Joao Goulart 
of Brazil in 1964 and Salvador Allende in Chile in 1973. More recently, 
in the twenty-first century, the U.S. government openly supported the 
coups against President Hugo Chavez in Venezuela in 2002, Jean Bertrand 
Aristide of Haiti in 2004 and Jose Manuel Zelaya of Honduras in 2009. 
Ample evidence of CIA and other U.S. agency involvement in all of these 
unconstitutional overthrows of democratically-elected governments 
abounds. What all of the overthrown leaders had in common was their 
unwillingness to bow to U.S. interests.

Despite bogus U.S. government claims, after Hugo Chavez was elected 
president of Venezuela by an overwhelming majority in 1998, and 
subsequently refused to take orders from Washington, he became a fast 
target of U.S. aggression. Though a U.S.-supported coup d’etat briefly 
overthrew Chavez in 2002, his subsequent rescue by millions of 
Venezuelans and loyal armed forces, and his return to power, only 
increased U.S. hostility towards the oil-rich nation. After Chavez’s 
death in 2013 from cancer, his democratically-elected successor, Nicolas 
Maduro, became the brunt of these attacks.

What follows is a brief summary and selection of U.S. aggression towards 
Venezuela that clearly shows a one-sided war. Venezuela has never 
threatened or taken any kind of action to harm the United States or its 
interests. Nonetheless, Venezuela, under both Chavez and Maduro – two 
presidents who have exerted Venezuela’s sovereignty and right to 
self-determination – has been the ongoing victim of continuous, hostile 
and increasingly unfriendly actions from Washington.

*2002-2004*

A coup d’etat against Chávez was carried out on April 11, 2002. 
Documents obtained under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 
evidence a clear role of the U.S. government in the coup, as well as 
financial and political support for those Venezuelans involved.[1] 
<http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/02/26/us-aggression-against-venezuela/#_ftn1>

A “lockout” and economic sabotage of Venezuela’s oil industry was 
imposed from December 2002 to February 2003. After the defeat of the 
coup against Chavez, the U.S. State Department issued a special fund via 
the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) to help the opposition 
continue efforts to overthrow Chavez. USAID set up an Office for 
Transition Initiatives (OTI) in Caracas, subcontracting U.S. defense 
contractor Development Alternatives Inc. (DAI) to oversee Venezuela 
operations and distribute millions of dollars to anti-government groups. 
The result was the “national strike” launched in December 2002 that 
brought the oil industry to the ground and devastated the economy. It 
lasted 64 days and caused more than $20 billion in damages. Nonetheless, 
the efforts failed to destabilize the Chavez government.

The “guarimbas” of 2004: On February 27, 2004, extremist anti-government 
groups initiated violent protests in Caracas aimed at overthrowing 
Chavez. They lasted 4 days and caused multiple deaths. The leaders of 
these protests had received training from the U.S. Albert Einstein 
Institute (AEI), which specializes in regime change tactics and strategies.

The Recall Referendum of 2004: Both NED and USAID channeled millions of 
dollars into a campaign to recall President Chavez through a national 
recall referendum. With the funds, the group Sumate, led by 
multi-millionaire Maria Corina Machado, was formed to oversee the 
efforts. Chavez won the referendum in a landslide 60-40 victory.

*2005*

After the victory of President Chavez in the recall referendum of 2004, 
the US toughened its position towards Venezuela and increased its public 
hostility and aggression against the Venezuelan government. Here are a 
selection of statements made about Venezuela by U.S. officials:

January 2005: “Hugo Chavez is a negative force in the region.” 
-Condoleezza Rice.

March 2005: “Venezuela is one of the most unstable and dangerous ‘hot 
spots’ in Latin America.” -Porter Goss, ex-Director of the CIA.

“Venezuela is starting a dangerous arms race that threatens regional 
security.” -Donald Rumsfeld, ex-Secretary of Defense.

“I am concerned about Venezuela’s influence in the area of 
responsibility…SOUTHCOM supports the position of the Joint Chiefs to 
maintain ‘military to military’ contact with the Venezuelan military…we 
need an inter-agency focus to deal with Venezuela.” -General Bantz 
Craddock, ex-Commander of SOUTHCOM.

July 2005: “Cuba and Venezuela are promoting instability in Latin 
America…There is no doubt that President Chavez is funding radical 
forces in Bolivia.” -Rogelio Pardo-Maurer, Assistant Sub-Secretary of 
Defense for the Western Hemisphere.

“Venezuela and Cuba are promoting radicalism in the region…Venezuela is 
trying to undermine the democratic governments in the region to impede 
CAFTA.” -Donald Rumsfeld, ex-Secretary of Defense.

August 2005: “Venezuelan territory is a safe haven for Colombian 
terrorists.” -Tom Casey, State Department spokesman.

September 2005: “The problem of working with President Chavez is serious 
and continuous, as it is in other parts of the relationship.” -John 
Walters, Director of the National Policy Office for Drug Control.

November 2005: “The assault on democratic institutions in Venezuela 
continues and the system is in serious danger.” -Thomas Shannon, 
Sub-secretary of State.

*2006*

February 2006: “President Chavez continues to use his control to repress 
the opposition, reduce freedom of the press and restrict democracy….it’s 
a threat.” -John Negroponte, ex-Director of National Intelligence.

“We have Chavez in Venezuela with a lot of money from oil. He is a 
person who was elected legally, just like Adolf Hitler…” – Donald 
Rumsfeld, ex-Secretary of Defense.

March 2006: “In Venezuela, a demagogue full of oil money is undermining 
democracy and trying to destabilize the region.” -George W. Bush.

U.S. officials try to link Venezuela to /Terrorism:/

June 2006: “Venezuela’s cooperation in the international campaign 
against terrorism continues to be insignificant…It’s not clear to what 
point the Venezuelan government offered material support to Colombian 
terrorists.” – Annual Report on Terrorism, Department of State.

June 2006: The U.S. government through the Commerce Department and U.S. 
Treasury imposes sanctions against Venezuela for its alleged role in 
terrorism and prohibits the sale of military equipment to the country.

July 2006: “Venezuela, under President Hugo Chavez, has tolerated 
terrorists in its territory…” -Subcommittee on International Terrorism, 
House of Representatives.

U.S. increases its /Military Presence /in Latin America:

March-July 2006: The US military engages in four major exercises off the 
coast of Venezuela in the Caribbean Sea, with support from NATO, and 
based at the US air force base in Curaçao. A permanent military presence 
is established in the Dominican Republic and the bases in Curaçao and 
Aruba are reinforced.

The US Embassy in Caracas establishes the “American Corners” in 5 
Venezuelan States (Lara, Monagas, Bolívar, Anzoátegui, Nueva Esparta), 
to act as centers of propaganda, subversion, espionage and infiltration.

U.S. Ambassador William Brownfield intensifies his public hostility 
towards the Venezuelan government, making frequent sarcastic and 
unfriendly comments in opposition-controlled media.

NED and USAID increase funding to anti-government groups in Venezuela.

*2007*

At the beginning of 2007, Venezuela is severely attacked in the 
international media & by U.S. government spokespersons for its decision 
to nationalize Cantv (the only national telephone company), the 
Electricity of Caracas and the Faja Orinoco oil fields.

In May 2007 the attack intensifies when the government decides not to 
renew the public broadcasting concession to popular opposition 
television station, RCTV.

A powerful international media campaign is initiated against Venezuela 
and President Chavez, referring to him as a dictator.

Private distributors and companies begin hoarding food and other 
essential consumer products in order to create shortages and panic 
amongst the population.

USAID, NED and the State Department via the Embassy in Caracas foment, 
fund and encourage the emergence of a right-wing youth movement and help 
to project its favorable image to the international community in order 
to distort the perception of President Chavez’s popularity amongst youth.

Groups such as Human Rights Watch, Inter-American Press Association and 
Reporters without Borders accuse Venezuela of violating human rights and 
freedom of expression.

September 2007: President George W. Bush classifies Venezuela as a 
nation “not cooperating” with the war against drug trafficking, for the 
third year in a row, imposing additional economic sanctions.

September 2007: Condoleezza Rice declares the U.S. is “/concerned about 
the destructive populism/” of Chavez.

*2008*

January 2008: Admiral Mike Mullen, Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of 
the U.S. Armed Forces meets with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, then 
Minister of Defense Juan Manuel Santos, U.S. Ambassador William 
Brownfield and the Commander General of the Colombian Armed Forces 
Freddy Padilla de Leon and declares during a press conference that he is 
“concerned about the arms purchases made by Chavez” and expresses that 
this could “destabilize the region.”

John Walters, the U.S. Anti-Drug Czar meets with Uribe in Colombia, 
together with 5 U.S. congresspersons and Ambassador Brownfield, and 
declares Venezuela a nation “complicit with drug trafficking” that 
presents “a threat to the US and the region”. He also expresses his wish 
that the Free Trade Agreement between the U.S. and Colombia be ratified 
by Congress soon.

Condoleezza Rice visits Colombia, together with Sub-Secretary of State 
Thomas Shannon and 10 congress members from the democratic party to push 
the FTA and back Colombia in its conflict with Venezuela.

President George W. Bush in his State of the Union address emphasizes 
the importance of the FTA with Colombia alerts to the threat of 
“populist” and “undemocratic” governments in the region.

February 2008: SOUTHCOM sends the Navy’s “4th fleet” to the Caribbean 
Sea (a group of war ships, submarines and aircraft carriers that haven’t 
been in those waters since the Cold War).

The Director of National Intelligence, General Mike McConnell, publishes 
the Annual Threat Report, which classifies Venezuela as the “principal 
threat against the US in the hemisphere”.

Exxon-Mobil tries to “freeze” $12 billion of Venezuelan assets in 
London, Holland and the Dutch Antilles.

A Report on Present Threats to National Security of the Defense 
Intelligence Agency classifies Venezuela as a “national security threat” 
to the U.S.

A Department of State report accuses Venezuela of being a country that 
permits “the transit of illegal drugs”, “money laundering” and being 
“complicit with drug trafficking.”

The U.S. Department of Treasury classifies three high level Venezuelan 
officials as “drug kingpins”, presenting no formal evidence. The head of 
Venezuela’s military intelligence, General Hugo Carvajal, the head of 
Venezuela’s civil intelligence force, General Henry Rangel Silva, and 
former Minister of Interior and Justice, Ramon Rodriguez Chacin are 
sanctioned by the U.S. government and placed on a terrorist list.

Rear Admiral Joseph Nimmich, Director of the US Joint Interagency Task 
Force, meets in Bogota with the Commander General of the Colombian Armed 
Forces.

March 2008: The Colombian army invades Ecuadorian territory and 
assassinates Raul Reyes and a dozen others, including 4 Mexicans, at a 
FARC camp in the jungle near the border.

General Jorge Naranjo, Commander of Colombia’s National Police, declares 
that laptop computers rescued from the scene of the bombing that killed 
Reyes and others evidence that President Chavez gave more than $300 
million to the FARC along with a quantity of uranium and weapons. No 
other evidence is produced or shown to the public. Ecuador is also 
accused of supporting the FARC.

Venezuela mobilizes troops to the border with Colombia.

The US Navy sends the Aircraft Carrier “Harry Truman” to the Caribbean 
Sea to engage in military exercises to prevent potential terrorist 
attacks and eventual conflicts in the region.President Bush states the 
U.S. will defend Colombia against the “provocations” from Venezuela.

Uribe announces he will bring a claim before the International Criminal 
Court against President Chavez for “sponsoring genocide and terrorism”.

March: President Bush requests his team of lawyers and advisors review 
the possibility of placing Venezuela on the list of “/STATE SPONSORS OF 
TERRORISM/” together with Cuba, Iran, Syria and North Korea.

*2009*

May: A document from the U.S. Air Force shows the construction of a U.S. 
military base in Palanquero, Colombia, to combat the “anti-American” 
governments in the region. The Palanquero base is part of the 7 military 
bases that the U.S. planned to build in Colombia under an agreement with 
the Colombian government for a ten-year period.

*2010*

February: The U.S. Director of National Intelligence declares Venezuela 
the “anti-American leader” in the region in its annual report on 
worldwide threats.

February: The State Department authorizes more than $15 million via NED 
and USAID to anti-government groups in Venezuela.

June: A report from the FRIDE Institute in Spain, funded by NED, 
evidences that international agencies channel between $40-50 million a 
year to anti-government groups in Venezuela.

September: Washington ratifies sanctions against Venezuela for allegedly 
not cooperating with counter-narcotics efforts or the war on terror.

*2011-2015*

President Obama authorizes a special fund of $5 million in his annual 
budget to support anti-government groups in Venezuela. In 2015, Obama 
increases this amount to $5.5 million.

NED continues to fund anti-government groups in Venezuela with about $2 
million annually.

Each year, the US government includes Venezuela on a list of countries 
that do not cooperate with counter-narcotics efforts or the war on 
terror. Also in its annual human rights report, the State Department 
classifies Venezuela as a “violator” of human rights.

Subsequent to President Chavez’s death from cancer on March 5, 2013, new 
elections are held and Nicolas Maduro wins the presidency. Opposition 
leaders hold violent demonstrations that result in the deaths of more 
than a dozen people.

In February 2014, the violent protests resume, led by Leopoldo Lopez and 
Maria Corina Machado, who openly call for the overthrow of President 
Maduro, and over 40 people are killed. Lopez turns himself in to 
authorities and faces charges for his role in the violence. The U.S. 
government calls for his immediate release.

In December 2014, President Obama imposed sanctions on more than 50 
Venezuelan officials and their relatives, accusing them of violating 
human rights and engaging in corruption. No evidence has been presented 
to date to support these serious allegations. The Commerce Department 
also expanded sanctions against Venezuela, prohibiting the sale of “any 
products” that could be destined for “military use” due to alleged human 
rights violations committed by the Venezuelan Armed Forces.

January 2015: Vice President Joe Biden warns Caribbean countries that 
the government of President Nicolas Maduro will soon be “defeated” and 
therefore they should abandon their discounted oil program with 
Venezuela, PetroCaribe.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki condemns the alleged 
“criminalization of political dissent” in Venezuela.

February 2015: President Obama unveils his new National Security 
Strategy and names Venezuela as a threat and stresses support for 
Venezuelan “citizens” living in a country where “democracy is at risk.”

Anti-government leaders circulate a document for a “transitional 
government agreement” which warns President Maduro’s government is in 
its “final stage” and pledges to overhaul the entire government and 
socialist system in place, replacing it with a neoliberal, pro-business 
model. The document is signed by Maria Corina Machado, jailed opposition 
leader Leopoldo Lopez and Antonio Ledezma, mayor of Metropolitan Caracas.

Days later, a coup plot against President Nicolas Maduro is thwarted and 
10 active Venezuelan military officers are detained. Antonio Ledezma is 
arrested and charged with conspiracy to overthrow the government and the 
U.S. State Department issues a harsh condemnation of his detention, 
calling on regional governments to take action against the Maduro 
administration.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest denies any U.S. government role in 
the coup attempt against Maduro, calling such allegations “ludicrous”, 
but further reveals, “The Treasury Department and the State Department 
are considering tools that may be available that could better steer the 
Venezuelan government in the direction that we believe they should be 
headed”.

/*Eva Golinger* is the author of The Chavez Code 
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00359FEMM/counterpunchmaga>. 
She can be reached through her blog <http://www.chavezcode.com/>./

*Notes.*

[1] 
<http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/02/26/us-aggression-against-venezuela/#_ftnref1> 
See /The Chavez Code: Cracking U.S. Intervention in Venezuela/, Eva 
Golinger. Olive Branch Press 2006.

-- 
Freedom Archives 522 Valencia Street San Francisco, CA 94110 415 
863.9977 www.freedomarchives.org
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