Sure seems like the Bush administration is getting alot more aggressive with Venezula and Cuba... what are the consequences? could they possibly be trying to drum up excuses to invade these countries?
The Miami Herald Makes the Case for Suspected Venezuelan Terrorists
Some comments:
Chavez claims the alleged plot was hatched in Miami and that U.S. officials knew about it. #msg-3103072
The Miami Herald editorial’s overall tone is one in defense of the ‘terror suspects’ who are linked to terrorist attacks against the diplomatic buildings of Colombia and Spain in Caracas in February 2003.
While alleging to make “no judgment on whether these men are guilty or innocent”, it is clear that they are trying to persuade or to pressure U.S. immigration officers to grant asylum to two individuals who face serious terrorism charges. This seems to back Chavez’s statement that this more recent alleged plot was conceived in Miami.
Perhaps the most important taboo is the longevity of the United States as both a terrorist state and a haven for terrorists. That the US is the only state on record to have been condemned by the World Court for international terrorism (in Nicaragua) and has vetoed a UN Security Council resolution calling on governments to observe international law, is unmentionable.
'In the war against terrorism,' said Bush from his bunker following 11 September, 'we're going to hunt down these evil-doers wherever they are, no matter how long it takes.'
Strictly speaking, it should not take long, as more terrorists are given training and sanctuary in the United States than anywhere on earth. They include mass murderers, torturers, former and future tyrants and assorted international criminals. This is virtually unknown to the American public, thanks to the freest media on earth.
There is no terrorist sanctuary to compare with Florida, currently governed by the President's brother, Jeb Bush. In his book Rogue State , former senior State Department official Bill Blum describes a typical Florida trial of three anti-Castro terrorists, who hijacked a plane to Miami at knifepoint. 'Even though the kidnapped pilot was brought back from Cuba to testify against the men,' he wrote, 'the defence simply told the jurors the man was lying, and the jury deliberated for less than an hour before acquitting the defendants.'
General Jose Guillermo Garcia has lived comfortably in Florida since the 1990s. He was head of El Salvador's military during the 1980s when death squads with ties to the army murdered thousands of people. General Prosper Avril, the Haitian dictator, liked to display the bloodied victims of his torture on television. When he was overthrown, he was flown to Florida by the US Government. Thiounn Prasith, Pol Pot's henchman and apologist at the United Nations, lives in New York. General Mansour Moharari, who ran the Shah of Iran's notorious prisons, is wanted in Iran, but untroubled in the United States.
Al-Qaeda's training camps in Afghanistan were kindergartens compared with the world's leading university of terrorism at Fort Benning in Georgia. Known until recently as the School of the Americas, it trained tyrants and some 60,000 Latin American special forces, paramilitaries and intelligence agents in the black arts of terrorism.
In 1993, the UN Truth Commission on El Salvador named the army officers who had committed the worst atrocities of the civil war; two-thirds of them had been trained at Fort Benning. In Chile, the school's graduates ran Pinochet's secret police and three principal concentration camps. In 1996, the US government was forced to release copies of the school's training manuals, which recommended blackmail, torture, execution and the arrest of witnesses' relatives.
This is a revised extract from The New Rulers of the World , by John Pilger, #msg-921276
The Miami Herald Makes the Case for Suspected Venezuelan Terrorists
Wednesday, Feb 04, 2004
By: Martin Sanchez, Venezuelanalysis.com
On Feb. 02, 2004, The Miami Herald ran an editorial about petitions for asylum by two Venezuelan rebel military officers who escaped to Miami after investigations linked them to terrorist attacks against the diplomatic buildings of Colombia and Spain in Caracas in February 2003.
Venezuelan National Guard lieutenants José Antonio Colina and German Rodolfo Varela belong to a group of military officials that rebelled against the Venezuelan government by holding a protest camp in a Caracas plaza and making public speeches calling for the overthrow of the government.
The Herald editorial’s overall tone is one in defense of the terror suspects. The suspects’ political opposition to the government of President Hugo Chavez is obviously the reason why the newspaper bothered to address the case in an editorial.
The Herald’s editorial line opposed to the twice-elected Venezuelan President is well known, and an editorial defending some of Chavez's political opponents should not surprise anyone. The Herald runs anti-Chavez news and articles on a daily basis. However, this case deserves special attention because even though the Herald claims to make “no judgment on whether these men are guilty or innocent”, it is clear that they are trying to persuade or to pressure U.S. immigration officers to grant asylum to two individuals who face serious terrorism charges.
The editorial calls for US Immigration officials to “give them an opportunity to make their case for asylum”, as if this was not the normal procedure in these cases. Telling the US Citizenship and Immigration Services how to do their job is inappropriate. The Herald itself reported in January 22nd that there were 899 applications for asylum by Venezuelans in 2003, of which 168 were accepted.
The issue is a “hot potato for the US government … no one wants to put at risk relations with one of our largest suppliers of petroleum,” continues the editorial, putting the U.S. on the defensive in another clear attempt at pressuring US officials. Perhaps a phrase such as “don’t let the oil distract you from following US law,” would have been more direct. However, Venezuela’s increasing sales of oil to the US in spite of the well known efforts by the Bush administration to destabilize the government of Venezuela makes it obvious that granting asylum to these individuals won’t stop that flow of oil. Giving shelter to more terror suspects in U.S. soil would just help expose the U.S. government’s double standards when dealing with terrorism.
Additionally, the Herald claims that the anti-Chavez military protest camp held at the Caracas plaza where the two terror suspects participated, “continues to this day”. As inhabitants of Caracas well know, and as reported by the Venezuelan media, the Plaza Altamira no longer houses the rebel camp. This lie can be attributed to simple lack of information, but it is inexcusable for a newspaper that covers Venezuelan developments on a daily basis. On a side note, the low attendance at the political acts staged there in months prior to its dismantling, evidences an overall disagreement with the criminal and morally questionable activities that according to court witness testimony, are linked to the camp.
But perhaps the most disturbing paragraph of the Herald’s piece includes suggestions for the terror suspects on possible arguments to make in their asylum request, and suggests that the Death Penalty is practiced in Venezuela; “They may even choose to ask for protection from deportation under the Convention Against Torture. They could argue that they would be executed in Venezuela on trumped-up charges” In contrast to the U.S., Venezuela stands proud as one of the first countries in the world to abolish Capital Punishment by doing so in 1899.
With regard to the charges, the evidence presented by the prosecutor is compelling enough to prompt Venezuela’s Supreme Court of Justice to back the detention request for extradition recently made by the Venezuelan government against these two individuals. The Supreme Court of Justice is clearly not controlled or influenced by the Executive branch, as evidenced by the Court’s exoneration of all charges of those involved in the 2002 coup d’etat against Chavez.
Newspapers must have total freedom to express their views about particular issues, but making false claims such as hinting at the existence of the Death Penalty in Venezuela is a matter that perhaps should merit an official request for apology and retraction by Venezuela’s government. There is clear intent here to harm Venezuela’s democratic government, not with facts, but with lies.
The Herald is right on something though, calling people "terrorists" doesn't make them so, as the three children, aged 13 to 15, recently released from the U.S. terrorist detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, can assert. In this case, Venezuelan authorities base their claims on the results of police investigations, witnesses testimony and a court order, most of which have been made public and it is verifiable, unlike recent claims made by authorities in some other countries to justify their military actions.
With this incident, the Herald does a dirty job for Venezuelan opposition leaders who have abstained from defending these individuals publicly as part of an insincere effort to distance themselves from radical sectors of the opposition and to try to clear their image as coup plotters.
Siding with terrorism suspects just on the basis of their opposition to Chavez makes a dent on the Herald’s already damaged credibility as a reliable source of news and opinion on contemporary Venezuelan issues.
Those who wish to get some background on the case might want to read Terror Attacks and Murders are Perpetrated by Anti-Chavez Militants, According to Investigations (www.venezuelanalysis.com/news.php?newsno=1118) or check out some more related information at www.venezuelanalysis.com/antichavezterror/
If you disagree with the Herald's position on this case, write a letter to the editor or contact them at
Letters to the Editor HeraldEd@herald.com (305) 376-3512
The Miami Herald’s editorial follows:
Venezuela's request for extradition Our opinion: Let the accused make their cases for asylum Editorial in the Miami Herald Mon, Feb. 02, 2004
Colombia had just purchased 46 AMX-30 battle tanks from Spain This is also the ideal formula to create a border war: A paramilitary infiltration, which the Venezuelan Army would try to repel, whose defenses the Colombian Army's new heavy tanks, conveniently posted on 'border patrol', would be able to smash through once the initial 'incident' was set. This would then be presented as 'Venezuelan aggression', and no doubt the US papers would set to work writing about how Chavez started a war to prevent the referendum. The war could then quickly change from one between Colombia and Venezuela to one between the US and Venezuela.
The 46 tanks will be part of a new Brigade, especially created, to 'patrol the border'. Four battalions and a Special Forces group form this new Brigade. The tanks are supposed to arrive in (and watch the timing carefully, for we will revisit it) August.
Colombia's New Border Brigade and the Venezuelan Referendum
Sunday, Jun 20, 2004 Print format
By: Justin Podur - ZNet
A few months ago, the commander of the Venezuelan Army, Raul Baduel, described something that worried him (1). Colombia had just purchased 46 AMX-30 battle tanks from Spain. The media claimed the tanks were to fight drug trafficking, but that hardly seemed plausible. Baduel suspected that the tanks were going to end up on the Venezuelan border. This deployment was blandly reported in El Tiempo, Colombia's national newspaper, yesterday (2). The 46 tanks will be part of a new Brigade, especially created, to 'patrol the border'. Four battalions and a Special Forces group form this new Brigade. The tanks are supposed to arrive in (and watch the timing carefully, for we will revisit it) August.
The El Tiempo article refers to the need for the tanks in order to "defend Colombia" from an "eventual incursion from Venezuela". The Brigade is also charged with the defense of the Wayuu indigenous people, who have been victims of massacres by "illegal armed groups". Thus, the indigenous can rest secure under the protection of the very army that is killing them directly or working with the paramilitaries ("illegal armed groups" who happen to work with the army) who are killing them.
As for the tanks themselves, their location is unknown. The deal was signed between the current Colombian government and the Spanish government of Jose Maria Aznar, who made sure he sold the tanks before he lost the elections in March. But, an El Tiempo editorial in the same issue speculates, the Venezuelan government is pressuring Zapatero's new Spanish government to call off the deal. "The final answer will be given by the tanks," writes the Madrid correspondent for El Tiempo, Victor Manuel Vargas. "That is, if they are delivered or not."
That is a very good description of US foreign policy, in fact, in the region and elsewhere: The final answer will be given by the tanks.
It is not coincidental that the tanks for the Venezuelan border are arriving in August. The Venezuelan recall referendum, when Venezuelans will vote on whether or not to recall President Hugo Chavez, will take place on August 15. It will take place, that is, if the Venezuelan opposition thinks they can win. Since the Venezuelan opposition could not likely win a fair vote, it is more likely that the whole referendum exercise, like the coup attempt in April 2002 and the 'National Strike' (3) later that year and into 2003, is just another part of the destabilization campaign against the Chavez government. In March 2003, just after the 'National Strike' collapsed, Colombia's army raided across the Venezuelan border (4). Just in May of 2004, another plot involving Colombian paramilitaries was foiled by Venezuela, though the details have not fully emerged. According to an AFP report Venezuelan police are still finding caches of weapons and individuals linked to the plot. (5)
The Colombian military and paramilitary have always been an essential part of the destabilization campaign against Venezuela. The timing of the posting of the armoured Brigade to the Venezuelan border, coinciding with the Venezuelan referendum and coming just months after an attempted paramilitary infiltration, is not coincidental.
In the countryside, the Colombian army often fights as follows: paramilitaries infiltrate a community and attempt to draw a response from the guerrillas. In the rare cases where guerrillas respond, the paramilitaries back off and the army replaces them, attacking the guerrillas with heavy weapons.
This is also the ideal formula to create a border war: A paramilitary infiltration, which the Venezuelan Army would try to repel, whose defenses the Colombian Army's new heavy tanks, conveniently posted on 'border patrol', would be able to smash through once the initial 'incident' was set. This would then be presented as 'Venezuelan aggression', and no doubt the US papers would set to work writing about how Chavez started a war to prevent the referendum. The war could then quickly change from one between Colombia and Venezuela to one between the US and Venezuela. Perhaps a repeat of the 3,000 or so civilians killed in Panama's poorest neighbourhoods in 1989, along with a media campaign about 'saving' them, while showing happy rich Venezuelans applauding on television, could follow? (This is an imperfect analogy: Noriega actually was a dictator. Chavez is not.)
Should that happen, one of the recipients of applause will be Colombia's President Alvaro Uribe Velez.
-Colombia's President, who said to an audience of 150 junior officers at a military college in Bogota the other day "I don't worry about Amnesty International, who we will never be able to count on. I worry that the people be able to trust the soldiers of the fatherland, that the people be able to trust us. This I do worry about." (6)
-Colombia's President, who, having tried to get a constitutional amendment in October 2003 that would have allowed him to get re-elected by putting a referendum to the people who rejected it roundly, quietly had the amendment passed in the legislature (7).
-Colombia's President, who was the governor of Antioquia, a department where one of the worst massacres happened at a place called Mapiripan. The very day before Uribe told the soldiers he doesn't "worry about Amnesty International", a retired Colombian general, Jaime Umberto Uscategui Ramirez, described in great detail how the army and paramilitary coordinated to have several dozen paramilitaries transported to Mapiripan to conduct their slaughter. His description, reported in the pages of Colombia's National Newspaper, detailed how the authorities in Antioquia, part of Uribe's administration, knew about this planned massacre well before it occurred. (8)
Think for one second how the US media would react if any of these things were true about Venezuela's President. The worst thing the US media seem to be able find to accuse Chavez of is 'Pandering to the Poor' (9).
To be fair, between his privatizations, his labor 'reforms', and his assault on unionists, the public sector, and the poor in Colombia, no one could accuse Uribe of 'pandering to the poor'. Only of military aggression, paramilitary murder, anti-democratic political manipulation, and economic plunder - none of which are crimes, so long as they are done in the service of the right interests.
In August, Venezuelans are supposed to vote again to determine their future. There are many who think that the Venezuelan majority has spoken loudly and clearly already, and that this referendum is a sham. Sham or no, Chavez could easily win a fair referendum. The real danger is that if Uribe and the United States have their way, "The final answer" may be "given by the tanks."
Notes
1) Dieterich interviews Baduel March 21, 2004 (original in rebelion.org)
2) El Tiempo, June 18, 2004, "Crean primera brigada de frontera en limite con Venezuela"
3) See my 'Venezuela's National Strike', December 10, 2003:
4) See my 'What is the Colombian Army doing attacking Venezuela?" April 3, 2003
5) See my 'Terrorist Plot Foiled!' May 10, 2004
6) El Tiempo, June 18, 2004 "Presidente Álvaro Uribe ordena envío de comandantes militares a las regiones para que dirijan tropas."
7) El Tiempo, June 17, 2004 "Cámara de Representantes aprobó la reelección presidencial inmediata en cuarto debate."
8) El Tiempo, June 16, 2004, "Así llegaron los paramilitares a perpetrar la masacre de Mapiripán según el general Uscategui"
9) Take a look at Zeynep Toufe's blog for a dissection of the Washington Post article that deserves a place in the history of the destabilization campaign.
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