Terrorism in Venezuela and Its Accomplices

[Judi Lynn]

Terrorism in Venezuela and Its Accomplices
Written by Steve Ellner
Monday, 19 May 2014 20:49

The private media and important actors both at home and abroad including Washington have downplayed, and in some cases completely ignored, the terrorist actions perpetrated against the Venezuelan government over the past three months. Among the latest examples of terrorism news that have been underreported abroad is the assassination in late April of Eliézer Otaiza, an historic leader of the Chavista movement and the president of the city council of Caracas. Another is a series of reports issued by Interior Secretary Miguel Rodriguez Torres with a wealth of documents – including videos, emails, phone call registries, and phone call recordings – that establish connections between terrorist activity and sectors of the Venezuelan opposition.

An example of how the charges of opposition-promoted terrorism get brushed aside is the opening remarks of Robert Menendez, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, in hearings to study proposed sanctions against Venezuela. First, Menendez enumerates numerous charges of government human rights violation based on statements by various individuals who are anything but impartial (such as Moisés Naím, who was Planning Minister under the government that Hugo Chávez staged his coup against in 1992). Then Menendez goes on to minimize the seriousness of the widespread violence carried out by the opposition. After recognizing “there has been violence on both sides,” he adds “but we should be perfectly clear that the primary responsibility for the excessive, unjustified use of force rests with the Maduro Administration.”

Anyone who gets their information solely from these sources could easily reach the conclusion that with the exception of a few minor excesses, which are normal and inevitable in protest movements of this sort, what is happening in Venezuela represents a flagrant violation of human rights on the part of the government.

Objectively speaking, the overall picture created by the discourse of political adversaries and the media’s coverage encourages the radical fringe of the opposition that is engaging in violence on an extensive scale. In this sense, those who downplay the importance of the opposition-promoted violence and exaggerate or fabricate actions of security forces to control the protests consciously or unwittingly serve as accomplices of those responsible for destructive activity.

More:
http://upsidedownworld.org/main/news-briefs-archives-68/4852-terrorism-in-venezuela-and-its-accomplices

[MADem]

1. Gee, what about the terrorist actions by the Cuban seeded GNB against the population of

Venezuela, denied their "absolute right" to protest (as written by Chavez in the Constitution) by that bully, ruling by absolute decree, Maduro?

Bullshit words on the internet can't make the video go away.

[Marksman_91]

2. Plenty of evidence with photos and videos showing abuses by pro-government and security forces

There's barely any, if not any at all, to implicate the nearly 3000 arrests of protesters. Once again you're only posting propaganda bullshit that doesn't talk about numbers or shows any kind of evidence to back up its claims, when there's plenty that show the abuse committed by those on the government's side, and plenty to shown the government's own ineptitude and corruption and their unwillingness to take any responsibility for the country's problems. Also you forget the "private media" is controlled or regulated by the government itself. The only outlet the opposition has now to spread its word is the internet. All TV channels, on the other hand, are controlled or regulated by CONATEL. Absolutely zero stations report anything about the protests. And very recently it was announced that CONATEL would be deciding what programs will be shown on cable as well. Obviously they're trying to shut down any channel that might talk negatively about the regime, in the best way that the Castro regime has done.

[MinM]

3. The evidence is compelling ..

Unless you're historically challenged, willfully ignorant, and or disingenuous.

Here's another example of the shenanigans that go on ..

Remember When Venezuela and Bolivia Kicked the U.S. DEA Out of Their Countries, Accusing It of Espionage? Looks Like They Were Right…

By Stephan Lefebvre | CEPR Americas Blog | May 22, 2014

In their latest article on U.S. government spying for The Intercept, Ryan Devereaux, Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras review and publish leaked documents that show that the U.S. government may have used the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to aid the National Security Agency (NSA) to spy on U.S. citizens and non-citizens in foreign countries. The NSA is shown to have assisted the DEA with efforts to capture narcotraffickers, but the leaked documents also refer to “a vibrant two-way information sharing relationship” between the two intelligence agencies, implying that the DEA shares its information with the NSA to aid with non-drug-related spying. This may explain how the NSA has gathered not just metadata but also the full-take audio from “virtually every cell phone conversation on the island nation of the Bahamas.” ...

In 2005, President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela stopped cooperating with the DEA after accusing it of espionage in his country. At the time, a State Department spokesperson responded by saying, “the accusations that somehow the Drug Enforcement Agency is involved in espionage are baseless. There’s no substance or justification for them.” Using arguments that would change very little over the next nine years, a State Department official said at the time, “I think it’s pretty clear to us that the motivation for this is not the accusation itself or not what they state is the problem. The motivation is an effort to detract from the government’s increasingly deficient record of cooperation.”

Three years later, President Evo Morales expelled the DEA from Bolivia saying, “there were DEA agents who worked to conduct political espionage.” He also said, “we can control ourselves internally. We don’t need any spying from anybody.” The State Department spokesperson said in response, “the charges that have been made are just patently absurd. We reject them categorically”, and the news agency EFE reported that “Washington has repeatedly denied that the DEA has been involved in any activities in Bolivia apart from the war on drugs.”

Few of the press reports from 2005 or 2008 took these accusations seriously, and the State Department dismissed the allegations categorically, but in 2008, CEPR’s co-director Mark Weisbrot wrote that “To the Bolivians, the U.S. is using the “war on drugs” throughout Latin America mainly as an excuse to get boots on the ground, and establish ties with local military and police forces.” To this list, we can now add access to national phone and communication networks, and storage of the content of phone calls.

http://alethonews.wordpress.com/2014/05/22/remember-when-venezuela-and-bolivia-kicked-the-u-s-dea-out-of-their-countries-accusing-it-of-espionage-looks-like-they-were-right/

Judi .. please feel free to start a new thread with this and keep up the good work.

[Mika]

4. Now now, MinM. "Everyone" knows that the US would never interfere in Latin America.

[hr]


Thanks for the reminder and the link.

[Judi Lynn]

5. We get disruptions from people who are challenged, proudly ignorant, and disengenuous.

It's hard to tell which quality dominates their mixtures. Their rancid, rancorous attitudes are the direct result of spending so much time in a place designed for progressives, unable to return to the places which suit them ideologically.

They've never been able to grasp the concept of discussing things with people of their own beliefs, like civilized people, in the natural, normal way of doing things.

We tend to spend our time with people we like, as the association works out better for everyone involved. These people, however, choose to force themselves among people who don't respect their views, because that would be insane.

Doesn't make too much sense.

I would really love to post this article you've linked, if you aren't going to do it. So very glad to see it, and thank you. It's exactly what the doctor ordered.

[Marksman_91]

6. Heinz Dieterich doesn't seemt to think the country's problems are caused by external entities

http://infovnzla.com/2014/03/06/protests-in-venezuela-maduro-has-a-maximum-of-eight-more-weeks-left-in-power/

[Judi Lynn]

7. Oh, Heinz Dieterich! That certainly carries the weight of moral authority, doesn't it? n/t

[Marksman_91]

8. He was essentially Chavez's mentor and some even call him the father of the Socialismo del Siglo XXI

You tell me if he doesn't represent a moral authority in this thing.

[Judi Lynn]

9. We had another disruptor, claiming to live in Spain who wore himself out

trying to push the guy, as well.

Didn't work then, of course.