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Amaunet

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Re: Amaunet post# 557

Monday, 05/17/2004 3:54:28 PM

Monday, May 17, 2004 3:54:28 PM

Post# of 9338
Chavez says he will train militias to defend against U.S. invasion

BY JORGE RUEDA

Associated Press

Posted on Mon, May. 17, 2004
CARACAS, Venezuela - President Hugo Chavez warned Sunday that ''imperialists'' in the United States plan to invade Venezuela to take over its abundant oil reserves and said his ''revolutionary'' government would begin military training for civilians as part of a new national defense strategy.

During a march to protest the presence of more than 100 alleged Colombian paramilitaries arrested near Caracas last week, Chavez said the militiamen had been brought to Venezuela as part of a plot involving his assassination and seizure of the largest oil reserves in the Western Hemisphere.

Government foes allegedly behind the purported plot aimed to create chaos in the country ''to dominate Venezuela ... and most importantly for the imperialists, to assure for itself one of the biggest oil reserves of the world,'' said Chavez.

Over 100 detainees remain in custody after being collared in raids since last Sunday, when authorities discovered a group of supposed Colombian paramilitary fighters hiding at a farm on the outskirts of Caracas.

Chavez claims the alleged plot was hatched in Miami and that U.S. officials knew about it.

The United States has repeatedly denied involvement, while Venezuelan opposition leaders argue the government staged the conflict to divert attention from their efforts to oust Chavez in a recall vote.

Chavez, a former paratrooper and self-proclaimed ''revolutionary,'' said he ordered military officers to make a list of civilians so that they could ``receive military training and become organized so that they could defend the fatherland.''

Venezuela, the world's fifth oil producer, sells most of its oil to the United States. But under Chavez relations have been tense due to his professed friendship with Fidel Castro and his criticism of free-market policies proposed by Washington. An outspoken critic of Washington's foreign policy in Latin America, Chavez has threatened to stop selling oil to the United States if Bush's government continues to ''directly intervene'' in Venezuela's affairs. Venezuela provides 15 percent of the United State's oil imports.

Chavez spoke before tens of thousands of his followers, carrying Venezuelan flags and carrying photographs of U.S. soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners. One banner read: ``Bush, take your claws out of Venezuela.''

''The presence of paramilitaries affects Venezuelans and us Colombians who live here,'' said Patricia Garcia, a 42 year old Colombian woman who lives in Venezuela.

Venezuela is deeply divided between those who applaud Chavez's programs to benefit the nation's poor majority and government opponents who fear the leftist president is steering the world's No. 5 oil exporter toward Cuba-style dictatorship.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/8687504.htm






Chavez Identifies Leaders of Colombian Paramilitary Group in Venezuela

Sunday, May 16, 2004



By: Gregory Wilpert - Venezuelanalysis.com


Caracas, May 15, 2004—During a press conference with Venezuela’s foreign press corps on Friday, President Chavez presented the pictures and names of the leaders of the paramilitary group that was captured last week in a farm on the outskirts of the country’s capital.

The main leader of the group is Jose Ernesto Ayala Amado, known as “Comandante Lucas” and is, according to Chavez, also one of the leaders of the Colombian paramilitary group known as the AUC (United Colombian Self-Defense, in its Spanish acronym), in the Colombian state of Norte de Santander.

Two other captured leaders also come from the same state, Rafael Antonio Omaña Trujillo, know as “Comandante Richard”, and Yeferson Gutierrez Guzman, know as “Comandante Yeferson”. Two more AUC leaders who were part of the Venezuelan group are still at large, Comandantes “Diego” and “Costeño.” President Chavez said, “It’s not like we are inventing things, as the media have irresponsibly begun to claim. Rather, there was a Colombian paramilitary operation of infiltration into Venezuelan territory, some with several years’ worth of experience and some newly recruited.”

According to Chavez, the group captured last week consisted of three blocks. The first of AUC leaders from Norte de Santander, the second of Colombian paramilitary fighters with experience, and a third block of individuals who were tricked into coming, some of whom are minors.

Colombian government does not have any connection with paramilitaries in Venezuela

President Chavez stated that in relation with the captured paramilitary group, “I am absolutely certain that the government of President Alvaro Uribe has nothing to do with this. I believe it and I know it. Chavez added that in recent conversations with the Colombian president, shortly before the discovery of the paramilitary group, they concluded that Colombian-Venezuelan relations were quite good and that trade between the two countries had increased by 100% since last year’s oil industry shut-down.

Nonetheless, there are, according Chavez, elements of Colombia’s extreme right that are involved in attempting to overthrow his government.

Venezuelan opposition is for the most part also not involved

When asked exactly who among Venezuela’s opposition leaders are involved in the paramilitary plot, President Chavez clarified that he was certain that “definitely these plans were not supported by an important part of the opposition.” The planning was too sloppy and the resources too limited to indicate that major sectors of Venezuela’s opposition might have been involved. “If a large part of opposition leaders had been involved in the presence of the paramilitary group in our country, then these men would have counted on vehicles, weapons,” said Chavez.


http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news.php?newsno=1272








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