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February 02, 2015<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/02/02/venezuela-a-coup-in-real-time/">http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/02/02/venezuela-a-coup-in-real-time/</a><br>
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<div class="subheadlinestyle"><b><big><big>The Same Old Dirty
Tactics</big></big></b></div>
<h1 class="article-title">Venezuela: a Coup in Real Time</h1>
<div class="mainauthorstyle">by EVA GOLINGER</div>
<div class="main-text">
<p>There is a coup underway in Venezuela. The pieces are all
falling into place like a bad CIA movie. At every turn a new
traitor is revealed, a betrayal is born, full of promises to
reveal the smoking gun that will justify the unjustifiable.
Infiltrations are rampant, rumors spread like wildfire, and the
panic mentality threatens to overcome logic. Headlines scream
danger, crisis and imminent demise, while the usual suspects
declare covert war on a people whose only crime is being
gatekeeper to the largest pot of black gold in the world.</p>
<p>This week, as the <em>New York Times</em> showcased an
editorial degrading and ridiculing Venezuelan President Maduro,
labeling him “erratic and despotic” (“Mr. Maduro in his
Labyrinth”, NYT January 26, 2015), another newspaper across the
Atlantic headlined a hack piece accusing the President of
Venezuela’s National Assembly, Diosdado Cabello, and the most
powerful political figure in the country after Maduro, of being
a narcotics kingpin (“The head of security of the number two
Chavista defects to the U.S. and accuses him of drug
trafficking”, ABC, January 27, 2015). The accusations stem from
a former Venezuelan presidential guard officer, Leasmy Salazar,
who served under President Chavez and was recruited by the U.S.
Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), now becoming the new “golden
child” in Washington’s war on Venezuela.</p>
<p>Two days later, the New York Times ran a front-page piece
shaming the Venezuelan economy and oil industry, and predicting
its downfall (“Oil Cash Waning, Venezuelan Shelves Lie Bare”,
Jan. 29, 2015, NYT). Blaring omissions from the article include
mention of the hundreds of tons of food and other consumer
products that have been hoarded or sold as contraband by private
distributors and businesses in order to create shortages, panic,
discontent with the government and justify outrageous price
hikes. Further, multiple ongoing measures taken by the
government to overcome the economic difficulties were barely
mentioned and completed disregarded.</p>
<p>Simultaneously, an absurdly sensationalist and misleading
headline ran in several U.S. papers, in print and online,
linking Venezuela to nuclear weapons and a plan to bomb New York
City (“U.S. Scientist Jailed for Trying to Help Venezuela Build
Bombs”, Jan. 30, 2015, NPR). While the headline leads readers to
believe Venezuela was directly involved in a terrorist plan
against the U.S., the actual text of the article makes clear
that no Venezuelans were involved at all. The whole charade was
an entrapment set up by the FBI, whose officers posed as
Venezuelan officials to capture a disgruntled nuclear physicist
who once worked at Los Alamos and had no Venezuela connection.</p>
<p>That same day, State Department spokeswoman Jan Psaki condemned
the alleged “criminalization of political dissent” in Venezuela,
when asked by a reporter about fugitive Venezuelan general
Antonio Rivero’s arrival in New York to plea for support from
the United Nations Working Committee on Arbitrary Detention.
Rivero fled an arrest warrant in Venezuela after his involvement
in violent anti-government protests that lead to the deaths of
over 40 people, mainly government supporters and state security
forces, last February. His arrival in the U.S. coincided with
Salazar’s, evidencing a coordinated effort to debilitate
Venezuela’s Armed Forces by publicly showcasing two high profile
military officers – both former Chavez loyalists – that have
been turned against their government and are actively seeking
foreign intervention against their own country.</p>
<p>These examples are just a snapshot of increasing, systematic
negative and distorted coverage of Venezuelan affairs in U.S.
media, painting an exaggeratedly dismal picture of the country’s
current situation and portraying the government as incompetent,
dictatorial and criminal. While this type of coordinated media
campaign against Venezuela is not new – media consistently
portrayed former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, elected
president four times by overwhelming majorities, as a tyrannical
dictator destroying the country – it is clearly intensifying at
a rapid, and concerning, pace.</p>
<p>The <em>New York Times</em> has a shameful history when it
comes to Venezuela. The Editorial Board blissfully applauded the
violent coup d’etat in April 2002 that ousted President Chavez
and resulted in the death of over 100 civilians. When Chavez was
returned to power by his millions of supporters and loyal Armed
Forces two days later, the Times didn’t recant it’s previous
blunder, rather it arrogantly implored Chavez to “govern
responsibly”, claiming he had brought the coup on himself. But
the fact that the Times has now begun a persistent, direct
campaign against the Venezuelan government with one-sided,
distorted and clearly aggressive articles – editorials, blogs,
opinion, and news – indicates that Washington has placed
Venezuela on the regime change fast track.</p>
<p>The timing of Leamsy Salazar’s arrival in Washington as an
alleged DEA collaborator, and his public exposure, is not
coincidental. This February marks one year since anti-government
protests violently tried to force President Maduro’s
resignation, and opposition groups are currently trying to gain
momentum to reignite demonstrations. The leaders of the
protests, Leopoldo López and María Corina Machado, have both
been lauded by The New York Times and other ‘respected’ outlets
as “freedom fighters”, “true democrats”, and as the Times
recently referred to Machado, “an inspiring challenger”. Even
President Obama called for Lopez’s release from prison (he was
detained and is on trial for his role in the violent uprisings)
during a speech last September at an event in the United
Nations. These influential voices willfully omit Lopez’s and
Machado’s involvement and leadership of violent, undemocratic
and even criminal acts. Both were involved in the 2002 coup
against Chavez. Both have illegally received foreign funding for
political activities slated to overthrow their government, and
both led the lethal protests against Maduro last year, publicly
calling for his ouster through illegal means.</p>
<p>The utilization of a figure such as Salazar who was known to
anyone close to Chavez as one of his loyal guards, as a force to
discredit and attack the government and its leaders is an
old-school intelligence tactic, and a very effective one.
Infiltrate, recruit, and neutralize the adversary from within or
by one of its own – a painful, shocking betrayal that creates
distrust and fear amongst the ranks. While no evidence has
surfaced to back Salazar’s outrageous claims against Diosdado
Cabello, the headline makes for a sensational story and another
mark against Venezuela in public opinion. It also caused a stir
within the Venezuelan military and may result in further
betrayals from officers who could support a coup against the
government. Salazar’s unsubstantiated allegations also aim at
neutralizing one of Venezuela’s most powerful political figures,
and attempt to create internal divisions, intrigue and distrust.</p>
<p>The most effective tactics the FBI used against the Black
Panther Party and other radical movements for change in the
United States were infiltration, coercion and psychological
warfare. By inserting agents into these organizations, or
recruiting from within, that were able to gain access and trust
at the highest levels, the FBI was able to destroy these
movements from the inside, breaking them down psychologically
and neutralizing them politically. These clandestine tactics and
strategies are thoroughly documented and evidenced in FBI and
other US government documents obtained through the Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA) and published in in Ward Churchill and
Jim Vander Wall’s excellent book, <em>“<a
href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0896086461/counterpunchmaga"
onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.amazon.com']);">Agents
of Repression: The FBI’s Secret Wars Against the Black
Panther Party and the American Indian Movement</a>”</em>
(South End Press, 1990).</p>
<p>Venezuela is suffering from the sudden and dramatic plummet in
oil prices. The country’s oil-dependent economy has severely
contracted and the government is taking measures to reorganize
the budget and guarantee access to basic services and goods, but
people are still experiencing difficulties. Unlike the dismal
portrayal in The New York Times, Venezuelans are not starving,
homeless or suffering from mass unemployment, as countries such
as Greece and Spain have experienced under austerity policies.
Despite certain shortages – some caused by currency controls and
others by intentional hoarding, sabotage or contraband – 95% of
Venezuelans consume three meals per day, an amount that has
doubled since the 1990s. The unemployment rate is under 6% and
housing is subsidized by the state.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, making Venezuela’s economy scream is without a
doubt a rapidly intensifying strategy executed by foreign
interests and their Venezuelan counterparts, and it’s very
effective. As shortages continue and access to dollars becomes
increasingly difficult, chaos and panic ensue. This social
discontent is capitalized on by U.S. agencies and
anti-government forces in Venezuela pushing for regime change. A
very similar strategy was used in Chile to overthrow socialist
President Salvador Allende. First the economy was destroyed,
then mass discontent grew and the military moved to oust
Allende, backed by Washington at every stage. Lest we forget the
result: a brutal dictatorship led by General Augusto Pinochet
that tortured, assassinated, disappeared and forced into exile
tens of thousands of people. Not exactly a model to replicate.</p>
<p>This year President Obama approved a special State Department
fund of $5 million to support anti-government groups in
Venezuela. Additionally, the congressionally-funded National
Endowment for Democracy is financing Venezuelan opposition
groups with over $1.2 million and aiding efforts to undermine
Maduro’s government. There is little doubt that millions more
for regime change in Venezuela are being funneled through other
channels that are not subject to public scrutiny.</p>
<p>President Maduro has denounced these ongoing attacks against
his government and has directly called on President Obama to
cease efforts to harm Venezuela. Recently, all 33 Latin American
and Caribbean nations, members of the Community of Latin
American and Caribbean States (CELAC), publicly expressed
support for Maduro and condemned ongoing U.S. interference in
Venezuela. Latin America firmly rejects any attempts to erode
democracy in the region and will not stand for another US-backed
coup. It’s time Washington listen to the hemisphere and stop
employing the same dirty tactics against its neighbors.</p>
<p><em><strong>Eva Golinger</strong> is the author of <a
href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00359FEMM/counterpunchmaga"
onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.amazon.com']);">The
Chavez Code</a>. She can be reached through her <a
href="http://www.chavezcode.com/"
onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.chavezcode.com']);">blog</a>.</em></p>
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