Venezuela: Anatomy of the Third Coup (II)

The advance of the third coup in Venezuela already allows us to understand its anatomy. It is perhaps the most sophisticated that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Washington mercenaries have set up since April 2002, and it combines elements from the destruction of Aristide’s government in Haiti, Allende in Chile, the Sandinistas in Nicaragua, and the subversion of real existing socialism in eastern Europe, especially the coup in Romania and the implosion of the German Democratic Republic.

1. The plan began with a “focal” tactic in Caracas, Friday February 27th, which was based essentially on blocking the streets with burning tires and trash, provoking public order forces, and producing deaths with mercenary snipers.

This first phase of the subversion had 2 functions: a) to program the nation’s and the world’s public opinion with the notion that president Chavez is an authoritarian dictator and, b) to distract from the true strategic goal of the onslaught: the removal of president Chavez.

Later, the focal tactics were activated in several inner cities, letting the capital city’s mercenaries rest so they could again come into action on Saturday, March 6.

2. The second step consisted in the public construction of an alibi for the White House, a work which was put in the hands of Secretary of State Colin Powell. Powell said in the US Congress, on Wednesday March 3, that Washington accepts the results of the National Electoral Council (CNE) and the repair process, which it qualified as “a process in progress, and which we will see fulfilled when Venezuelan citizens can verify their signatures.”

He also declared that “Hugo Chavez is the democratically elected president and the USA accepts these results.”

The State Department spokesman, Gonzalo Gallegos, specified that “we join the call of the Organization of American States and of the Carter Center, in asking all parts to continue their commitment with the National Electoral Council in guaranteeing that they act in a manner that is expedient, transparent, viable, and respectful of the constitutional rights of those who signed the petition for a recall referendum.”

Powell’s declarations were also good for distracting the forces which support the Chavez presidency, some of which erroneously interpreted these propagandistic statements as a sign of respect from Bush for Venezuela’s sovereignty.

3. While the ferocious campaign of the media continued inside the country, with the Venezuelan Episcopal Conference declaring that “with the decisions made [by the Electoral Council-Dietrich], the country’s crisis is not solved, but rather becomes deeper, and it seems that [they] are playing irresponsibly with violence and the elimination of the other side with impunity.” The Inter-American Commission for Human Rights joined the squadron in constructing an international smoke screen, condemning the government and issuing “an urgent call for the pacification and preservation of democracy and the State of Civil Rights in the terms of the American Convention and the Democratic Charta.”

The day before, Amnesty International had already expressed their opinion on the Venezuelan situation, saying that “the main responsibility for guaranteeing the protection of the human rights of all citizens falls mainly on the government, but all social and political agents, whether for or against the government, should avoid any contribution to the increase in political violence and the deterioration of the situation of human rights.”

Strangely, the main ‘social agent’ responsible for the destruction and human losses—the television channels and printed media owned by the oligarchy—were not even mentioned in the communication from the venerable human rights organization.

4. Milos Alcalay, the Venezuelan ambassador at the United Nations, was the next piece of the game moved by Washington. Already during the coup of April 2002, the social-christian Alcalay had betrayed the government, offering his good services to coupmonger Carmona in a letter. Inexplicably, his betrayal was forgiven and he kept his position, preparing the circus of his theatrical resignation on March 4th, in New York City.

“It is impossible for me to represent a state diplomatically in a conflict environment such as now, which denies human rights, destabilizes democracy and affects dialogue,” expressed the career diplomat, and he criticized “the military and political repression” which the mercenaries’ protests suffered on February 27th; he disapproved of the Electoral Council’s work, considering its decisions to “constitute a denial of the true notion of democracy,” and called for the formation of “a government to save the nation.”

5. The psychological aim of the never-ending television campaign of the channels Globovision, whose director is Alberto Federico Ravell, and Venevision, owned by media mogul Gustavo Cisneros, is double: on one hand they try to generate a psychotic state in the population so as to facilitate its manipulation and, on the other, they attempt to morally break the National Guard, which is bearing the brunt of the street conflicts and the sniper attacks.

6. The fifth column in Washington looks for two final scenarios. Both of them have the same premise: a) It won’t be possible to defeat President Chavez in clean elections and b) the oligarchy and Washington won’t recover the State and their privileges without neutralizing him.

7. The first scenario consists of leaning on the fragile dynamic power balance between streets hordes linked through TV networks to the real leaders of subversion and a democratic army that won’t kill civilians, towards the empire’s allies and the oligarchy.

“Boy, the Berlin Wall was torn down with this,” expressed one of the mercenary leaders in a phone conversation with the “focal” streets groups, logically, trying to cheer them up.

If that strategy does not success in its final objective, the mercenaries will possibly accept, for now, some concessions from the CNE or the government, which will allow them to open the electoral campaign of the recall referendum, in which Washington will invest all of its know-how and the resources necessary to triumph.

8. If this scenario fails, a Plan B is probable, consisting on an air strike by a hired pilot. After all, if diplomats and generals are bought, why not find an army pilot for sale?

The Miraflores Palace, the Defense Ministry and the Army Headquarters, are located close to each other inside Caracas, almost in a straight line. So an F-16 or Mirage bomber could strike three of the targets in a single aggression, finding shelter immediately after in the American bases in Curacao or Aruba, where he would ask for political asylum.

9. If the President is not neutralized with this in the short term, armed groups will be activated, as happened in Nicaragua and Haiti. The aggression against Nicaragua had its bases in Honduras, against Haiti in Dominican Rep. and the armed bands already in action against Venezuela are based in Colombia.

The Bush administration won’t make any concessions carrying out this plan. International solidarity must have the sense and wisdom to understand the moves of this subversive imperial chess game before they happen.

This is the only way that the big predator of the North will be checkmated.

Translated from Spanish by Vanessa Di Domenico and Yosvani Deya Martinez for Venezuelanalysis.com