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Leaked plans for US backed coup in Venezuela

Locust No longer

18:27 / 29.11.07

Ok, for some reason my initial post won't work at all (it only posted part of what I wrote and mangled the rest. Let's see if I can at least get the link to work:

The memorandum

As I was writing, this doesn't strike me as necessarily suspect as there was a failed US backed coup in 2002... link here.

Although from a quick googling I've found little to support this story other places other than some blogs. I won't claim to know what this will do to the already frosty/hostile relationship between the US and Venezuela, other than it'll probably won't help it much. And if it is true, how the could this get any worse? Is it just the same old, same old? Thoughts?

07:54 / 30.11.07

I would guess it is totally bogus,just some conspiracy nutts going "oh, the evil empire is at it again". I wouldn't even be surprised if such story was planted by Chavez supporters trying to justify the (anti-democratic) referendum that is about to happen with the good old, we have to defend ourselves" motif.

The part hatkilled any credibility for me was this one:

an internal CIA memorandum has been obtained by Venezuelan counterintelligence from the US Embassy in Caracas

Yeah,right! Like the Venezuelan counterintelligence had access to the US Embassy like that, and the CIA would leave a memorandum around saying "Hey, let's kill someone". Chavez and his supporters like to demonize the US influence over Latin America and the world (I'm not to say it is actually a good influence, but they exaggerate to justify their anti-democratic measures and to disguise their populist agenda as "socialism", which it is not) and to forge such a memorandum woul be in pair with his dictatorial ambitions...

Locust No longer

13:25 / 30.11.07

Hmm. I definitely see that point. I think if it gets picked up by a few more credible sources other than mainly leftist blogs, we will know better. But I certainly don't think it's outside the realm of possibility, as the US has had its role in not only the recently failed coup in Venezuela but many other South and Centeral American countries. From some quick research, I've found that Eva Golinger to be a well respected, if controversial author/lawyer, having written a few respected books on Venezuela and Hugo Chavez. That doesn't mean this couldn't be false, however; but it does lend more credence to the article. If it is simply Chavez backed propaganda, I think it's pretty interesting.

jentacular dreams

13:40 / 30.11.07

Well there's a wiki entry on it here and it also featured fairly heavily in John Pilger's War on Democracy film which was screened back in the summer. Worth watching.

14:11 / 30.11.07

Keep following the links and you'll find things can always get more complicated.

All Acting Regiment

14:37 / 30.11.07

Well, we know what the US did in Chile and Nicaruaga (especially you, Megs) so I don't think this is entirely out of the question. Possibly faked, yes, but many things are possibly faked.

15:12 / 30.11.07

Let me clarify myself a bit. The CIA planning to kill Chavez is indeed entirely inside the realm of possibility. What I find to be outside said realm is the CIA leaving a document about it around in its Venezuela embassy (do they even still have one?) and the Venezuelan version of CIA (however it's called) actually puting their hands into it and it finding its way to a single blog, specially before Chavez himself makes a inflamatory speech about alleged assassination plans while waiving around a piece of paper with a photocopy of said document.

Too many plot holes, I reckon...

15:17 / 30.11.07

The US Embassy in Venezuela, not the CIA Embassy in Venezuela. Sorry for the bad editing.

Regrettable Juvenilia

15:22 / 30.11.07

we know what the US did in Chile and Nicaruaga (especially you, Megs)

Shut Up Dead Megatron!!! especially? Why? Are you suggesting he was involved?

All Acting Regiment

15:45 / 30.11.07

No, but in the context that DM and I are both from, in one way or another, South America, I (snarkily, certainly) assumed his (apparent) brush-off was something less intelligent than it was.

21:51 / 30.11.07

Are you suggesting he was involved?

I neither deny nor confirm anything.

AAR, I just find myself profoundly suspicious of Venezuela's press at this point in history. (E)speccially in view of the upcoming constitution-ammending referendum. Major propaganda articles are sure to be printed now (from supporters and opposers both), and we really can't trust anything we read about the El President and Venezuela.Not even CNN apparently...

20:16 / 01.12.07

specially before Chavez himself makes a inflamatory speech about alleged assassination plans while waiving around a piece of paper with a photocopy of said document

Just as an update, today Chávez did make such speech, though the photocopy was missing. So, let's see. Sunday should be a troublesome day in "Little Veneza"...