September 29, 2012
As election drama intensifies in Venezuela,
Anglo-American plans to initiate yet another destabilization effort in a
sovereign nation seem to be manifesting via the usual suspects - American
ambassadorial staff and the
Council on Foreign Relations.
Venezuela is, after all, the biggest supplier of petroleum to the United
States. In turn, the United States is Venezuela’s biggest customer.
Furthermore, the imperialist US sanctions
regarding
countries, banks, businesses,
and individuals that do business with Iran were applied to the
Venezuelan state oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), in May 2011
after the US State Department claimed that PDVSA delivered two cargo
shipments of refined petroleum products worth approximately $50 million to
Iran between the months of December and March 2010-2011.
Even more so, Chavez’ government, in 2002, was briefly overthrown as a result of a coup largely supported by the United States.
Although Chavez was able to regain control of the Presidency and the government within a mere 48 hours, such an affront to Venezuelan sovereignty and personal power is not likely to be forgotten by Chavez.
In turn, the fact that the United States is ready and willing to back opposition leaders capable of storming the capitol and taking power is not likely to be forgotten by individuals seeking to do so.
For instance, in a recent paper published by the
Council on Foreign Relations around mid-September entitled, “Political
Unrest in Venezuela,” the former US ambassador to the South American
nation, Patrick D. Duddy provided a clear list of possible military,
financial, and political contingency measures to be taken after
elections are held on October 7.
However, the reality is that, while this does exist within the realm of possibility, the violence and chaos that ensues is much more likely to be a legitimate and organic reaction to the election of Radonski who is seen as much more favorable toward dismantling many of the social programs that Chavez heavily invested in.
Even Duddy admits in his paper that a Chavez
loss might result in riots by government workers “before Capriles can be
inaugurated.”
Among these indicators are those such as the following:
Although many of these conditions have been predicted or are quite possible inside the United States in coming years, Duddy sees their presence in Venezuela as the signal of apocalyptic social upheaval.
More importantly, Duddy represents this
upheaval as vital to the interests of the United States - particularly
those of U.S. involving the need “to promote democracy, increase
regional cooperation, combat narcotics, and protect its economic
interests in the region.”
In other words, Duddy suggests, the underdog Radonski is facing an uphill battle not only in terms of popular support but also in the form of Chavezs’ government machine.
But, while may very well be the case, Duddy
has more obvious reasons for supporting Radonski than he initially lets
on.
Chavez also demanded Venezuelan gold stocks be returned to Venezuela and out of Western banks. Radonski, on the other hand, is seen as being much more “market-friendly.”
In fact, analysts from Credit Suisse, Casey Reckman and Igor Arsenin, stated to Bloomberg News earlier this year that,
Again, a translation is necessary.
Chavez represents a threat to the
Anglo-American imperialist strategy because of his refusal to engage in
unrestrained privatization. Radonski represents a much better option due
to his support for, at the very least, privatization and “free market”
tendencies.
Although the charges of fomenting violence on the Cuban embassy during the coup attempt were ultimately dropped, the suspicion surrounding Radonski’s allegiances remain.
After all, the
U.S. State Department was quick to go to bat for Radonski when his
trial was set to take place, claiming that his case was indicative of
Venezuelan
Human
Rights abuses.
The question facing the United
States, according to Duddy, then becomes “What can we do about it?”
Inside the pages of “Political Unrest in Venezuela,” he attempts to
answer this question or, more accurately put, how the United States can
best take advantage of such a situation.
Thus, it is important to note that, among
Duddy’s “Mitigating Options,” there falls the subcategories of
diplomatic, economic and financial, and military options.
He also proposes that the United States involve the United Nations, the European Union, and “other international partners,” in order to,
Unfortunately, Duddy does not define what a “regional effort to restore democracy” would look like.
However, considering the recent
history of Anglo-American interference, along
with other international “coalitions
of the willing,” we can only imagine that the results would bring
little benefit to the Venezuelan people.
He also suggests that the,
In other words, Duddy is proposing that the United States seize, freeze, and otherwise sanction Venezuelan assets until the election results are established to the satisfaction of the Anglo-American oligarchy.
Clearly, a Chavez government does not fit
the accepted mold formed by the shadow government currently guiding
world society. Thus, one must naturally wonder just what the world power
elite has in store for Venezuela on October 7.
In this short section, Duddy is doing more than simply hinting that the United States, along with other Latin American client states, “encourage” the Venezuelan military to depose Hugo Chavez and install a different government.
Notice that nowhere does Duddy suggest the possibility that Radonski might be the culprit in contested elections and post-election violence.
The reason for this is that Radonski is not
the target of the Anglo-American destabilization efforts - Chavez is. It
is also ironic because Radonski has himself been involved in the
instigation of political violence in the past.
As Lee Brown of Venezuela Analysis writes,
Indeed, the entire purpose of Duddy’s paper seems to be a preparation at the academic level for a second coup attempt in Venezuela using “contested” elections as a justification.
Much like the destabilizations taking place all over the world, particularly in the Middle East, the Anglo-Americans appear to be posturing for political, financial, proxy, or even direct involvement in the domestic affairs of yet another sovereign nation using civil unrest as a justification.
More interesting still is the fact that the
civil and political unrest used to justify this involvement has been
fomented by the Anglo-American intelligence networks to begin with.
As what little liberty the Venezuelan people had begins to flow down the drain, the corporate media will laud the crowing of the new free market king in the place where a democratically elected President once stood.
Like the unfortunate people of Libya, the Venezuelans will wake up to a much darker world upon completion of the Anglo-American destabilization plan.
Americans, however, will just wake up none the wiser.
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