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February 26, 2015<br>
<b><small><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/02/26/us-aggression-against-venezuela/">http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/02/26/us-aggression-against-venezuela/</a></small></b><br>
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<div class="subheadlinestyle"><b><big><big>Fact Not Fiction</big></big></b></div>
<h1 class="article-title">US Aggression Against Venezuela</h1>
<div class="mainauthorstyle">by EVA GOLINGER</div>
<div class="main-text">
<p>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 <a
href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2015/02/237650.htm"
onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.state.gov']);">Jen
Psaki</a> 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”.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p><strong>2002-2004</strong></p>
<p>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.<a
href="http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/02/26/us-aggression-against-venezuela/#_ftn1"
name="_ftnref1">[1]</a></p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p><strong>2005</strong></p>
<p>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:</p>
<p>January 2005: “Hugo Chavez is a negative force in the
region.” -Condoleezza Rice.</p>
<p>March 2005: “Venezuela is one of the most unstable and
dangerous ‘hot spots’ in Latin America.” -Porter Goss,
ex-Director of the CIA.</p>
<p>“Venezuela is starting a dangerous arms race that threatens
regional security.” -Donald Rumsfeld, ex-Secretary of Defense.</p>
<p>“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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>“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.</p>
<p>August 2005: “Venezuelan territory is a safe haven for
Colombian terrorists.” -Tom Casey, State Department spokesman.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>November 2005: “The assault on democratic institutions in
Venezuela continues and the system is in serious danger.”
-Thomas Shannon, Sub-secretary of State.</p>
<p><strong>2006</strong></p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>“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.</p>
<p>March 2006: “In Venezuela, a demagogue full of oil money is
undermining democracy and trying to destabilize the region.”
-George W. Bush.</p>
<p>U.S. officials try to link Venezuela to <em>Terrorism:</em></p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>July 2006: “Venezuela, under President Hugo Chavez, has
tolerated terrorists in its territory…” -Subcommittee on
International Terrorism, House of Representatives.</p>
<p>U.S. increases its <em>Military Presence </em>in Latin
America:</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>U.S. Ambassador William Brownfield intensifies his public
hostility towards the Venezuelan government, making frequent
sarcastic and unfriendly comments in opposition-controlled
media.</p>
<p>NED and USAID increase funding to anti-government groups in
Venezuela.</p>
<p><strong>2007</strong></p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>In May 2007 the attack intensifies when the government
decides not to renew the public broadcasting concession to
popular opposition television station, RCTV.</p>
<p>A powerful international media campaign is initiated against
Venezuela and President Chavez, referring to him as a
dictator.</p>
<p>Private distributors and companies begin hoarding food and
other essential consumer products in order to create shortages
and panic amongst the population.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Groups such as Human Rights Watch, Inter-American Press
Association and Reporters without Borders accuse Venezuela of
violating human rights and freedom of expression.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>September 2007: Condoleezza Rice declares the U.S. is “<em>concerned
about the destructive populism</em>” of Chavez.</p>
<p><strong>2008</strong></p>
<p>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.”</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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).</p>
<p>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”.</p>
<p>Exxon-Mobil tries to “freeze” $12 billion of Venezuelan
assets in London, Holland and the Dutch Antilles.</p>
<p>A Report on Present Threats to National Security of the
Defense Intelligence Agency classifies Venezuela as a
“national security threat” to the U.S.</p>
<p>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.”</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Rear Admiral Joseph Nimmich, Director of the US Joint
Interagency Task Force, meets in Bogota with the Commander
General of the Colombian Armed Forces.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Venezuela mobilizes troops to the border with Colombia.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Uribe announces he will bring a claim before the
International Criminal Court against President Chavez for
“sponsoring genocide and terrorism”.</p>
<p>March: President Bush requests his team of lawyers and
advisors review the possibility of placing Venezuela on the
list of “<em>STATE SPONSORS OF TERRORISM</em>” together with
Cuba, Iran, Syria and North Korea.</p>
<p><strong>2009</strong></p>
<p>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.</p>
<p><strong>2010</strong></p>
<p>February: The U.S. Director of National Intelligence declares
Venezuela the “anti-American leader” in the region in its
annual report on worldwide threats.</p>
<p>February: The State Department authorizes more than $15
million via NED and USAID to anti-government groups in
Venezuela.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>September: Washington ratifies sanctions against Venezuela
for allegedly not cooperating with counter-narcotics efforts
or the war on terror.</p>
<p><strong>2011-2015</strong></p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>NED continues to fund anti-government groups in Venezuela
with about $2 million annually.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki condemns the alleged
“criminalization of political dissent” in Venezuela.</p>
<p>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.”</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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”.</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>
<p><strong>Notes.</strong></p>
<p><a
href="http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/02/26/us-aggression-against-venezuela/#_ftnref1"
name="_ftn1">[1]</a> See <em>The Chavez Code: Cracking U.S.
Intervention in Venezuela</em>, Eva Golinger. Olive Branch
Press 2006.</p>
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