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<h1 itemprop="name headline">NED Official Meets with Venezuelan
Opposition Figures</h1>
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<div class="capdate" itemprop="datePublished">Published 12
March 2015<br>
<b><small><small><small><small><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/NED-Official-Meets-with-Venezuelan-Opposition-Figures-20150312-0007.html">http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/NED-Official-Meets-with-Venezuelan-Opposition-Figures-20150312-0007.html</a></small></small></small></small></b><br>
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<p>The official changed her appearance upon arrival in Venezuela,
used a pseudonym, and traveled with illegal license plates.</p>
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<p>A high-ranking official from the National Endowment for
Democracy recently traveled to Venezuela under suspicious
circumstances to meet with right-wing opposition politicians,
the president of the Venezuelan National Assembly Diosdado
Cabello revealed Wednesday. </p>
<p>During his weekly television program, Cabello said the NED's
Director for Latin America and the Caribbean Miriam Kornblith
arrived in Venezuela Feb. 28, and upon her arrival she opted to
disguise her appearance, going so far as to dye her hair. </p>
<p>Kornblith then traveled to Bolivar City to meet with opposition
politicians and representatives of a nongovernmental
organization, registering at a hotel under the pseudonym Sarah
Collins. </p>
<p>“If she is acting in good faith, why does she feel the need to
change her name and dye her hair?” asked Cabello. The Venezuelan
official also said that Kornblith traveled in a vehicle using
license plates belonging to a different car. </p>
<p>Cabello stated that Kornblith's mission in Venezuela was to
resolve an issue regarding the allocation of money from the NED
between opposition parties. After returning to Caracas, she
allegedly held a four-hour meeting with opposition leader Ramon
Jose Medina at the offices of an opposition political party. </p>
<p>Cabello called Kornblith's employer, the NED, “an institution
used by North American imperialism to finance subversive
terrorist groups that operate as so-called NGOs.” </p>
<p><span style="color:#FF0000;"><strong>In Context: Kornblith and
the National Endowment for Democracy</strong></span> </p>
<p>Although the NED claims to be a private foundation, its
resources come from the U.S. Congress by way of the State
Department. The NED has been widely accused of being a tool of
U.S. foreign policy, funding groups that oppose governments that
U.S. governments oppose. </p>
<p>According the NED website, in 2014 alone, the foundation gave
US $2,381,824 to organizations operating in Venezuela,
ostensibly for things such as training in the use of social
media, and the monitoring of human rights. A cursory examination
of grant recipients reveals that the money mostly went to groups
opposing the democratically-elected government of President
Nicolas Maduro. </p>
<p>Kornblith does not hide her own political views concerning
Venezuela. In 2013 she wrote in the NED's scholarly journal an
article entitled, “Latin America’s Authoritarian Drift: Chavismo
after Chavez?” In the article Kornblith heavily criticizes
Venezuela under Chavez for allegedly undermining democracy in
the country, citing analysis by the conservative Freedom House
think tank. </p>
<p>She<span style="line-height: 1.6;"> also questions the
legitimacy of elections in Venezuela – which have been praised
by prominent groups such as the Carter Center – and lauds</span><span
style="line-height: 1.6;"> the </span>political<span
style="line-height: 1.6;"> </span>arrangement<span
style="line-height: 1.6;"> </span>that<span
style="line-height: 1.6;"> </span>existed<span
style="line-height: 1.6;"> in Venezuela </span>before<span
style="line-height: 1.6;"> </span>Chavez<span
style="line-height: 1.6;">. </span>Known<span
style="line-height: 1.6;"> as the Punto Fijo </span>Pact<span
style="line-height: 1.6;">, </span>under<span
style="line-height: 1.6;"> </span>that<span
style="line-height: 1.6;"> </span>system<span
style="line-height: 1.6;"> two </span>traditional<span
style="line-height: 1.6;"> </span>parties<span
style="line-height: 1.6;"> </span>would<span
style="line-height: 1.6;"> </span>alternate<span
style="line-height: 1.6;"> in </span>power<span
style="line-height: 1.6;">, </span>deliberately<span
style="line-height: 1.6;"> </span>excluding<span
style="line-height: 1.6;"> the </span>voices<span
style="line-height: 1.6;"> of Venezuela's </span>poor<span
style="line-height: 1.6;"> </span>majority<span
style="line-height: 1.6;">.</span> </p>
<p>In addition, Kornblith distorts history and misrepresents facts
to make her argument. For example, she makes an unsourced claim
that military officers refused an order from Chavez to use force
against demonstrators before the 2002 coup that briefly ousted
him from power. </p>
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Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
415 863.9977
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.freedomarchives.org">www.freedomarchives.org</a>
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