Wikileaks: Documents Confirm US Plans Against Venezuela

[IScreamSundays]

Source: Chavez Code

State Department documents published by Wikileaks evidence Washington's plans to "contain" Venezuela's influence in the region and increase efforts to provoke regime change

BY EVA GOLINGER

A substantial portion of the more than 1600 State Department documents Wikileaks has published during the past two weeks refer to the ongoing efforts of US diplomacy to isolate and counter the Venezuelan government.

Since Hugo Chavez won the presidency for the first time in 1998, Washington has engaged in numerous efforts to overthrow him, including a failed coup d'etat in April 2002, an oil industry strike that same year, worldwide media campaigns and varios electoral interventions. The State Department has also used its funding agencies, USAID and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), to channel millions of dollars annually to anti-Chavez NGOs, political parties, journalists and media organizations in Venezuela, who have been working to undermine the Chavez administration and force him from power.

When these interventionist policies have been denounced by the Chavez government and others, Washington has repeatedly denied any efforts to isolate or act against the Venezuelan head of state.

Nonetheless, the State Department cables published by Wikileaks clearly evidence that not only has Washington been actively funding anti-Chavez groups in Venezuela, but it also has engaged in serious efforts during the past few years to convince governments worldwide to assume an adversarial position against President Hugo Chavez.

Read more: http://www.chavezcode.com/2010/12/wikileaks-documents-confirm-us-plans.html

[IScreamSundays]

1. This from October 2009

One secret document from October 2009 referring to a meeting between Mexican President Felipe Calderon and US Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair tells of how Calderon confessed he was "trying to isolate Venezuela through the Rio Group". The Mexican head of state also appealed to the US intelligence chief, "The region needs a visible US presence...the United States must be ready to engage the next Brazilian president. Brazil, he said, is key to restraining Chavez...The US needs to engage Brazil more and influence its outlook".

[Horse with no Name]

2. And people said Hugo was crazy-thinking

that the US was out to get him.

[subsuelo]

20. it is to be expected from people glued to mainstream news sources. n/t

[Hydra]

38. After an attempted Coup, no less

Some people have incredible blinders.

[texastoast]

3. So what will Obama say to the oil and gas interests behind this?

Or maybe my question should be what has he said? Wonder if Wikileaks has anything on that.

[jwirr]

19. It is dam cold here in MN - is Obama going to replace the oil grants

Chavez gives to the poor in this country. I doubt it.

[fascisthunter]

4. once again, Chavez is proven right

[reggie the dog]

5. gee, so Chavez's secret service was right when they told him

the americans were trying to oust him???

[femrap]

6. It was just as

we thought. And the nasty policies against Chavez continue from administration to administration.

Change? :rofl:

[Pavulon]

7. Lots on chavez. Securing manpads, making sure he does not supply the FARC

and french involvement with him as well was outlined. Search the database.

[WilmywoodNCparalegal]

8. What kind of source is Chavez Code?

I read the blog and it seems a rather biased one-sided source. Anyone have a link to the actual WikiLeaks cable?

[IScreamSundays]

11. you can search the cable data base

Just type in Venezuela.

http://cablesearch.org/

[kenfrequed]

9. Wow... totally shocked.

Oh wait... what was that other thing... the opposite of surprised?

So... where are all the Chavez haters now?

[Warren Stupidity]

13. hesadiktato!

[tblue37]

37. How would Dan Quayle spell "diktato"? "Dictatoe"? nt

[subsuelo]

21. the Chavez haters are taking a moment to figure out how to spin this.

Give them some time - they'll come up with something sooner or later.

Maybe attack the source? We shall see.

[Toucano]

23. I think I now qualify as a Chavez hater, so I'll step up.

Just because the U.S. policy is wrong, doesn't make Chavez right.

Chavez is right to resist the U.S. policy and forces, but wrong to think himself more important than a movement.

When you cross that boundary, you become a contrarian, taking a position just because it's the opposite of your opposition's opinion.

Much like John McCain, actually.

[subsuelo]

25. When has Chavez proclaimed himself more important than a movement? n/t

[Toucano]

29. When he refuses to step down and hand the reins to someone else.

He is saying that he, a persona, is more important than the movement he supposedly leads.

You have to believe in your own revolution once in awhile.

When you don't, you become a despot.

[Name removed]

30. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

31. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Toucano]

33. Judi Lynn, you surprise me.

Whatever made you think that I took any information from the corporate media?

When Venezuela voted with Nicaragua to support Ortega's invasion of Costa Rica last month, the Chavez government lost all credibility.

The movement chose him true, and rightly so. It re-elects him because he doesn't allow them to have a choice. He won't step aside an empower the movement to perpetuate itself without him.

An growing percentage of Venezuelans who support the principles of Chavez would like a change. They are increasingly uncomfortable with the growing militarization and the alliances with undemocratic countries ie Iran.

He has become the definition of a despot, and the cronyism is poisoning the movement, rather than strengthening it.

Have a little humility, develope a little natural, moral, and human concern about knowing the truth FIRST before trumpeting your conclusions on a subjec the vast majority of Venezulans hold very important to them personally

You could stand a little of that humility in this case, actually. Why would you assume that because I disagree with you that I must be misinformed?

[Wilms]

40. "refuses to step down and hand the reins to someone else"???

You mean like, "OK. It's your turn."

It's a little more nuanced than that. They do this weird ritual in VZ called ELECTIONS. Need a link?

[kenfrequed]

41. Uhm

He has been elected repeatedly with clear majorities in elections that were monitored internationally. Are you saying the will of a democratic people should be ignored in favor of internationally enforced term limits?

Or that our aesthetic annoyance with Chavez and his inconvenience to our business interests should trump the will of his people? I think he should start working his government up to outlast his presidency too, but the problem is that everyone in the US that wants him to step down seems to have only the interests of the wealthy in mind.

[Lorien]

42. Attacking the source sounds about right

either that, or they'll post a link to a long article that only contains slivers of truth that can be spun to support their kneejerk hatred.

[Kingofalldems]

10. Chavez was right?

Kick to the top.

[Poboy]

17. Can't be!

[Warren Stupidity]

12. Not that this is a shocking revelation.

What it is instead is documented evidence of malfeasance.

[sabrina 1]

14. Yes, but what they should be worried about is that most thinking

people saw through the lies. All that money wasted because the people of Venezuela were not fooled having had decades of experience with the efforts to suppress democracy in their country.

And now we have confirmation as you point out. Over $300 million dollars spent on anti-Chavez propaganda.

Why is this country always opposed to democracy while, as more Wikileaks documents have confirmed, supportive of brutal dictatorships like Karamov in Uzbekistan? We now have confirmation of that support also, not to mention damning confirmation that the U.S. knew of Karamov's brutality towards his own people, described in cables released by Wikileaks. They supported Karamav, the cables show, despite his gross human rights violations, because he allowed them, for a price, to build military bases in his country.

A picture emerges of a country that is based on a web of lies, on the one hand, claiming to support democracy, while in reality undermining real democracies everywhere, while shamefully supporting leaders who boil their dissidents in oil.

No wonder they want to silence Wikileaks.

[Uncle Joe]

15. This blind hatred and disrespect for the right of the Venezuelan People to choose

their own leadership is one major dynamic killing U.S. credibility both home and abroad.

Thanks for the thread, IScreamSundays.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

16. Naw! Our "transparent" government trying to subvert a democracy?!!? Perish the thought. K&R

[Name removed]

18. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[kenfrequed]

26. Well...

I don't agree with those people on many things. Whether Wikileaks is journalism is an open question but what is unquestionable is that it the documents and records on Wikileaks constitute a Primary Source which is more important than journalism. It is part of a historical record now which journalists may use as a source in stories.


Personally I think Journalists are often blinded by the need to have an interview where someone stands up and admits culpability or points the finger at someone else. Solid evidence is treated by many news outlets to be less important than finding a few people to play the 'he-said/she-said' game. Official 'off-the-record' sources are treated more importantly than official records.

If anything the documents on Wikileaks are bigger than journalism, particularly the muted, castrated, weak-willed, corporate coddling that we call journalism these days.

[Ichingcarpenter]

27. He is not my Cup of Tea but I think for his nation he is

Seems like South America has woken up to AMERICA'S ARROGANCE.

Many countries down their are calling us out on our IMPERIALISM.

The only ally now is Columbia........LOL!

[Angry Dragon]

22. We overthrew a democracy in 1953

so we could protect British oil interests
It at least starts there

[Judi Lynn]

28. We also overthrew a beloved President in Guatemala, Jacobo Arbenz, the next year.

This was done to further the interests of the US United Fruit Company (A.K.A. Chiquita, presently) and the Dulles Brothers, involved with it, one President Eisenhower's Sec. of State, and Alan, John F. Dulles' brother, the head of the C.I.A.

Guatemala was cast into hell with that overthrow. Over 200,000 Mayan Indian citizens have been slaughtered, often entire villages destroyed in a conflagration of torture, mutilation, amidst vicious, violent, soulless murders. It literally has destroyed their world.

Those countries remain as victims being held in the basement or attic of a sadistic psychopath. Whenever they finally elect a President who starts helping the poor find a way to stand up again, one way or another, a new wave of violence sweeps into the country and destoys him one way or another.

Hideous. Anyone who attempts to claim the people trying to help their countrymen/women get to saftey is someone who's "dangerous" to U.S. interests is telling you he values U.S. American power-flexing above the lives of righteous people of the world, who should, by all that's holy, be respected, instead of terrorized into paralyzed fear by outside forces.

[Angry Dragon]

35. Thank you for the information

I do not know if I had read this before

[leftstreet]

24. K&R

[lsewpershad]

32. K&R

[leveymg]

34. The U.S. meddling in Latin America? Shocked! Shocked, I am!

Nobody I know ever claimed Hugo was nutz for claiming Washington is hostile to him and has been variously trying to neutralize, isolate, and regime change him. And, will continue to do so.

It's just what we Ugly Norte Americanos do.

[Selatius]

36. When has the United States not tried to destroy Hugo Chavez? nt

[Occam Bandage]

39. Diplomats tried to get foreign leaders to be "adversarial" to Chavez? Well, I'm scandalized.

I for one cannot believe that diplomats would try to use diplomatic channels to influence diplomacy.