[News] The Hybrid War on Venezuela Moves to a New Stage of Aggression

[Anti-Imperialist News]

https://orinocotribune.com/the-hybrid-war-on-venezuela-moves-to-a-new-stage-of-aggression/
The
Hybrid War on Venezuela Moves to a New Stage of Aggression
------------------------------

*Let’s put the U.S. government on the side for a moment. We know about its
long-standing goal of regime change. We all know that President Trump has
denied any U.S. involvement in the raid. That was to be expected but not to
be believed. We would like to focus on some of the implications of this
raid that come from three sources: self-appointed president Juan Guaidó and
two videos with declarations from key players.*

By Nino Pagliccia  –  May 6, 2020

In the early morning of May 3, Venezuela witnessed the first attempt of a
raid by speedboats with armed mercenary forces on the central coast of
Venezuela, just a few kilometers from the capital city, Caracas. The
response by the Venezuelan armed forces and the almost continuous updates
about the action including photos and videos were quick.

Just a couple hours later, while the defensive operation was still
underway, Venezuela’s Minister of Interior Nestor Reverol issued an initial
statement <https://youtu.be/8lbbMxJc198>, “*A group of terrorist
mercenaries attempted a maritime invasion, entering Venezuela with** speedboats
via **the **coast** of La Guaira. Their aim was to assassinate leaders of
the Bolivarian Revolution and carry out a coup.*” The suggestion that the
raid – already a grave act of aggression – had such menacing consequences
was not far-fetched given past attempts to overthrow the Maduro government,
including attempted assassinations.

RELATED CONTENT: Pompeo, on the Failed Mercenary Incursion in Venezuela:
“If We Had Been Involved it Would Have Gone Differently”
<https://orinocotribune.com/pompeo-on-the-failed-mercenary-incursion-in-venezuela-if-we-had-been-involved-it-would-have-gone-differently/>

The Venezuelan Minister of Defense, Vladimir Padrino, injected inspiring
words in his official communiqué
<http://www.minci.gob.ve/fanb-neutralizo-incursion-maritima-por-la-guaira/>,
“*The Bolivarian National Armed Force categorically rejects these acts of
irrational violence, before which we have always been victorious in defense
of the Homeland, unfailingly clinging to the Constitution.*”

Diosdado Cabello, president of the National Constituent Assembly and
vice-president of the governing party PSUV (United Socialist Party of
Venezuela), provided a conclusion
<http://www.minci.gob.ve/ocho-paramilitares-fallecidos-en-incursion-frustrada-por-la-guaira-desde-colombia/>
of
the initial defensive action that ended “*with an unfortunate balance of
eight deceased, two detained people** who were there; a lot of significant
weapons, in addition to vehicles that they had ready to carry out actions
directly on institutions and authorities.*”

Cabello also warned of more possible raids and launched a call to the
population in general to be watchful for any suspicious or irregular
activity, particularly along the Venezuelan coast. Consequently, the
following day, on May 4, more armed mercenaries were apprehended thanks to
the quick reporting by fishermen in the contiguous coastal area of Aragua
State.

At his point, two important facts are to be noticed: The prompt documented
official reporting of events, and more importantly, the consistent
concurrence on the facts from the different branches of the government,
including the population, that has been qualified as a true
civic-military-police success.

Full details of those facts with some analysis of the implied tactical
strategies pursued by the mercenary attack can be read here
<https://www.resumen-english.org/2020/05/a-new-frustrated-chapter-in-the-violent-war-against-venezuela/>
 and here
<https://medium.com/@misionverdad2012/segunda-incursi%C3%B3n-mercenaria-contra-venezuela-en-48-horas-fracasa-en-chuao-68ccbce8fcf2>
for
the May 3 and May 4 incidents, respectively. But other side stories and
revelations lead us to ask, what can we say about the coordination of this
ongoing coup attempt, the coup plotters involved, and the expected outcome
were the coup to succeed?

Let’s put the U.S. government on the side for a moment. We know about its
long-standing goal of regime change. We all know that President Trump has
denied
<https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/05/venezuela-donald-trump-denies-link-raid-us-citizens>
any
U.S. involvement in the raid. That was to be expected but not to be
believed.

RELATED CONTENT: Shootings in Petare (Caracas) – A Diversion to Facilitate
the Mercenary Incursion
<https://orinocotribune.com/shootings-in-petare-caracas-a-diversion-to-facilitate-the-mercenary-incursion/>

We would like to focus on some of the implications of this raid that come
from three sources: self-appointed president Juan Guaidó and two videos
with declarations from key players.

In a tweet <https://twitter.com/Presidencia_VE/status/1257035999760310280> on
May 3, Guaidó dismissed the mercenary attack as a “false flag” by the
Maduro government to hide social problems, although a day later he changed
his tune in a video interview
<https://twitter.com/carlosvecchio/status/1257719903576035328> by
suggesting that the “dictatorship” had infiltrated the armed group. This
shows that Guaidó was not aware of the upcoming incursion on Venezuela.

Further evidence that he was not part of the planning can be inferred from
a video <https://twitter.com/Carive15/status/1257056551866642433> where
Venezuelan former National Guardsman Javier Nieto Quintero appears next to
former U.S. Green Beret Jordan Goudreau. Nieto introduces Goudreau as
a “*member
of the special forces of the U.S. army who also runs the Florida-based
**company
Silvercorp USA **to provide services to** handle the** whole spectrum of
crisis situations*”, and is reported
<https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14859> to “organize a military
expedition aimed at ousting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro”. The video
announces the raid as part of a so-called armed struggle, “Operation
Gideon”, and is a call to the Venezuelan military and people to join in the
overthrow of the Maduro “regime”.

What is striking is that in the two-and-a-half-minute-long video, not once
is there a reference to Guaidó as the “legitimate interim president” of
Venezuela and that the incursion also intends to support his claim.

On the contrary, in another video <https://youtu.be/mGsao-iBZGk>,Goudreau is
interviewed from an undisclosed location by Miami-based Venezuelan
journalist Patricia Poleo. The main thrust of the interview revolves around
a contract shown and allegedly signed by Silvercorp’s Jordan Goudreau, Juan
Guaidó, and other representatives. The existence of such a contract was
revealed several weeks ago but never shown before. Goudreau claims that
Guaidó breached the contract by failing to pay the convened US$1.5 million
for his “services”. That was mentioned to be the reason why “the
‘liberation’ of Venezuela was not achieved.” But surely Goudreau must have
had his eyes on the larger multimillion-dollar “reward” promised by the
Attorney General as a bounty
<https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/26/nicolas-maduro-us-indictment-venezuela-drug-trafficking-leaders>
for
the capture of Nicolas Maduro and other high-ranking Venezuelan officials.

*Conclusion*

The statements made by those who masterminded the recent mercenary armed
incursion on Venezuela – that was quickly neutralised by the Venezuelan
forces – do not seem to have had Guaidó in their minds in the event that
their hoped-for attempted coup was a success.

In fact, the coup plotters apparently never included Guaidó in their plans.
A news item
<https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-security-trump/trump-denies-u-s-role-in-what-venezuela-says-was-mercenary-incursion-idUSKBN22H1XL>
by
Reuters states, “*In Washington, a source familiar with U.S. intelligence
assessments described the incursion as a ‘private enterprise’ and said it
was not believed to have been carried out with Guaido**’**s knowledge or
approval.*”

Not only was Guaidó absent from any consideration for involvement in the
raid or in the future Venezuela envisioned by the coup plotters, but Guaidó
was directly targeted by a disgruntled foreign mercenary claiming that he
was not paid for his “work”. This widely distributed information was timely
released by a Venezuelan journalist who is not a supporter of Maduro but a
supporter of a more radical right-wing opposition. This can only be
construed as intentionally meant to harm Juan Guaidó in the eyes of all
Venezuelans, and any claim he might have to leading Venezuela.

This also occurs at a time when Guaidó seems to be losing
<https://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/14601> international support for
failing to be a catalyst force among Venezuelans and bringing the
Venezuelan Army to a mass mutiny. At the same time, Secretary of State Mike
Pompeo’s recent release
<https://www.state.gov/the-united-states-proposes-a-framework-for-a-peaceful-democratic-transition-in-venezuela/>
of
a “Framework for a transition in Venezuela” seems to leave Guaidó out of a
potential new government, at least until new U.S.-suggested presidential
elections in Venezuela.

Behind these events, we observe a deepening of the division in the
right-wing opposition, but a more dangerous one that Washington will gladly
use to its advantage. The escalation in Venezuela from violent riots to
armed mercenary incursions and sabotage, likely aided by the U.S. and its
proxy Colombian government, indicates that the Hybrid War on Venezuela is
moving to the next stage of aggression that might degenerate into an armed
civil confrontation. The strong and committed resistance of a united
government, its Bolivarian defense forces, and a patriotic population can
defuse the aggression. However, Venezuelans and all Latin Americans in the
region should be alert and concerned about the human cost.

Source URL: OneWorld
<http://oneworld.press/?module=articles&action=view&id=1446>



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