English Edition Nº 70

Pg. 7 | Integration

Pg. 8 | Opinion

Community of Latin American & Carribean Wikileaks: US Embassy requested $10 million States inaugural meeting postponed for anti-Chavez groups in Venezuela

FRIday  J uly 1st, 2011  N o. 70  B s 1  C aracas

ENGLISH EDITION The artillery of ideas

President Chavez overcomes health issue, Advances well

Major advances in counter-narcotics efforts

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has certified Venezuela as a territory free of drug cultivations and production.

Furthermore, Venezuela ranks 5th worldwide in cocaine seizures. These tremendous strides in the war on drugs waged by the Venezuelan government are a result of an ambitious national anti-drug program, which involves both a crackdown on drug transit and drug consumption.

Venezuela, while not a drugproducing country, has been victim to neighboring Colombia’s massive cocaine production and trafficking.

Recovering from surgery and diagnostic tests, the Venezuelan President has been overseeing government and running office at a normal pace

President Chavez spoke before the Venezuelan people late Thursday evening, explaining he had been recovering well from first a minor surgery for a pelvic abscess and later from the removal of a cancerous tumor, which was successfully extracted without complication. His absence from the public eye led media, nationally and internationally, to spiral into a twisted world of half-truths, outright lies, fantastical stories and speculative myths about President Hugo Chavez’s state of health. Despite the ongoing, informative and transparent statements made almost daily by government officials regarding the President’s recovery process, media chose to ignore the truth and venture off into the world of morbid fantasy, spreading rumors like wildfire around the globe about Chavez.

Nonetheless, he’s recovering well and running government as usual, just a little less publicly. | page 2

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Politics

Washington plans further actions against Venezuela The US is preparing additional sanctions against the oil-producing nation. | page 4

Politics

Venezuela rejects US Congress hearing The US Capitol held a hearing last week attempting to link Venezuela to terrorism.| page 5

Social Justice

Thousands of women benefit from social program A special program to help mothers in need has been successful. | page 6

Downtown Caracas Restored

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Venezuela: US human trafficking report “Hypocritical”

n Monday, the Obama administration listed Venezuela as one of the countries failing to meet requirements for fighting human trafficking. Venezuela called the report “hypocritical”. In its 2011 Trafficking in Persons Report, the State Department added 11 countries to the list, including Algeria, Lebanon, Libya, and Yemen.

Cuba was listed for the ninth year running while Ecuador, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic were added to the State Department’s “watchlist”. Both the Venezuelan and Cuban governments have con-

demned the report as slanderous and a distortion of reality.

“The Venezuelan government repudiates the hypocritical attitude of the United States government, which unilaterally assumes the role of judge and jury while at the same time that country is the world record holder for human trafficking, especially for Latin American citizens, whose rights are systematically violated by authorities who even go to the extreme of conducting human hunts at the border”, stated a communication from the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry. The

US has also designated Venezuela a non-cooperative country in the fight against drug trafficking since 2005, the year Venezuela broke ties with the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) on suspicion that the DEA agents were spying. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reported in June that Venezuela is ranked fifth worldwide in cocaine interdictions and has been a territory free of illicit coca leaf cultivation since 2006. Venezuela cited the UN report as evidence of US bias.

T/ Rachael Boothroyd

s part of the Bicentennial celebrations in Caracas next week, a tour of historic landmarks recently restored in Caracas will be opened to the public, revealed the head of government of the Capital District, Jacqueline Faria.

Faria explained to press that the tour will cover areas restored by the government, including the Old Post Office in Carmelitas, the Vice Presidency, the National Archives, the Holy Church Chapel, the House of Music and Cathedral and the Golden Lion hotels, as well as the gorgeously renovated National Theater.

Faria said the permanent tourist route will be launched during bicentennial celebrations in Caracas and will form part of other programs inaugurated by the government to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Venezuela’s Independence on July 5.

The bicentennial agenda includes the cultural occupation of the capital’s historic center, which will take place on July 8, 9 and 10.

The program also includes activities organized by the embassies of various countries in Venezuela to share their cultures, histories and achievements.

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2 | Impact

No 70 • Friday, July 1st, 2011

The artillery of ideas

Chavez: Recovering well, despite myths

Pictures, video and audio of an encounter between Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Cuban leader Fidel Castro evidence the South American President is recovering satisfactorily after surgery to remove a pelvic abscess and a small tumor

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uch hype has been made about the state of President Hugo Chavez’s health. International media have perpetuated numerous unfounded rumors claiming the Venezuelan head of state is in critical condition, has cancer, is in a coma or even passed away. These media outlets, which range from notoriously reactionary anti-Chavez press such as El Pais (Spain), Fox News and the Miami Herald (and its Spanish version, El Nuevo Herald) to the somewhat more respectable BBC, NPR, CNN, New York Times and Washington Post, have all circulated these wild myths and stories about President Chavez’s condition, without presenting any evidence to substantiate their allegations.

Apparently, making things up about a sitting president, who happens to have a very public, controversial image, is good for ratings. Social networks online have exacerbated the issue even more, engaging in what could only be considered a frenzied orgy of ficticious stories about the Venezuelan President’s health. Some tweeters have “killed” Chavez several times already, while others have invented every possible ailment known to humanity and claimed he has it.

Private Venezuelan media have been equally as disgraceful, circulating the same rumors promoted in international press and online, and creating others. Some have gone so far as to claim President Chavez is “inventing his ailment” to “gain political points and sympathies” from his followers. One columnist who writes for a major national daily, El Universal, has dedicated his notoriously rumor-based articles to Chavez’s health since the Venezuelan chief underwent surgery for a pelvic abscess on June 10. This alleged “journalist”, Nelson Bocaranda, has defamed and slandered President Chavez, and gravely misinformed the public by writing that Chavez has prostate cancer and has been undergoing radioactive treatment in a specialized clinic in Havana.

TWISTING THE FACTS Much of the false information about President Chavez circulating in public opinion originated from an article published in El Nuevo Herald, claiming “US intelligence officials” informed the Mi-

ami publication the Venezuelan President was suffering from a “terminal illness”.

Even State Department officials, during a Congressional hearing on Venezuela last week in the House Committee on Foreign Relations, alleged they had information about President Chavez they couldn’t “make public”.

CNN in Spanish has been doing sensational nightly programs on the Venezuelan leader’s health situation, bringing in “experts” on every possible ailment Chavez is claimed to be suffering from, and morbidly analyzing the “consequences” of his “tragic downfall”. CNN in English has also done segments ridiculously inquiring “Where in the world is Hugo Chavez?” when from the beginning of his surgery it was of public knowledge that the Venezuelan President was recovering in Cuba.

Most of these media, and those who own them, would be overjoyed to have the polemic leftist President out of the picture for good. These same media have “killed” Fidel Castro dozens of times over the years, only to bite their tongues every time the Cuban leader makes public appearances, energized and astute for an 84-year old revolutionary.

The overly-exaggerated reaction to Chavez’s health has in large part resulted

from the habitual public appearances he’s made during the past 12 years, which everyone – literally everywhere – has grown accustomed to. His absence from the limelight has left a massive hole in media that report on Venezuela. Even those from opposition groups and political parties in Venezuela have been left at a loss without President Chavez.

When he’s here, the opposition wants him gone, and has attempted everything from coup d’etats, economic sabotages, assassination attempts and even calling for foreign intervention, to get him out.

When he’s temporarily absent, they want him back. When photographs and video images were shown of him from his recovery location in Havana, opposition spokespeople and media demanded he make a speech. When he’s in Venezuela making speeches and talking on television, they want him silenced. As they say in Venezuela, “Chavez has them all crazy” (Chavez los tiene locos).

SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT The truth is, within hours of his surgery for a pelvic abscess on the verge of bursting – which could be very dangerous and requires immediate drainage

– the Venezuelan government informed the public of his status. Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro read a statement that Friday, June 10 on live television from Cuba, where the President had made a final stop on a Latin American tour. The surgery was successful and the Venezuelan head of state just needed to recover.

Two days later, Chavez himself called into a live television show on Telesur and spoke for about 20 minutes about the operation and his current status, as well as his road to recovery and full capacity to continue leading the government from his hospital bed. After all, he was not mentally incapacitated, just temporarily physically debilitated from the intervention.

Chavez also explained that the incision to drain the abscess had been “deep”, and as a precaution, biopsies were taken to ensure he had no signs of anything malignant.

But during the days post-op, media coverage of Chavez’s health rapidly deteriorated into a vampiric binge of false information attempting to portray the Venezuelan leader as “critically ill”. Many claimed the myths they were spreading were due to a level of “secrecy” about the President’s condition. But everyday, high level officials from the government publicly informed about his progress and revealed they were in constant communication with him.

Where was the secrecy?

Apparently, when media, yellow-journalists and politicians don’t hear what they want to hear, they make things up and blame the government for lack of information. The Venezuelan President is recovering well after the removal of an unforeseen previously tumor, but all his well. He just had surgery on a very sensitive part of his body and is in recovery and rehab. For someone who is generally extremely energetic and hasn’t rested or taken vacation in 12 years, one month of post-op recovery is a miminum of what he needs and deserves to get back to his usual self.

Despite his absence from the public eye, with the exception of the video footage shown this week on Cuban and Venezuelan television – which showed a thinner, but solid Chavez, talking with the same passion and fire as always – the President has been running the government at a normal pace, signing bills into laws, approving budgets and overseeing his cabinet member’s activities. Everything has been moving forward as usual. There is no lack of governance in Venezuela.

And soon, Chavez will be back in the limelight running the show and the usual suspects will be once again complaining about his mighty presence.

T/ Eva Golinger P/ Agencies

No 70 • Friday, July 1st, 2011

The artillery of ideas

Security

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United Nations report: Venezuelan anti-drug efforts advancing Despite the US government’s continual classification of Venezuela as “not cooperating in counter-narcotics efforts”, the United Nations, which carries the weight of 192 nations, believes otherwise

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enezuela’s rate of annual drug interdiction is among the highest in the world, its levels of drug consumption are low relative to its Latin American neighbors, and its national territory remains free of coca leaf cultivation, according to the latest report of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

“We have been evaluated and we have gotten these very important results with regards to the fight against drug trafficking”, Venezuelan Minister for Justice and Interior Tareck El Aissami announced following the release of the report on Friday.

The annual report, titled World Drug Report 2011, showed Venezuela ranking fifth worldwide in cocaine seizures with 28 metric tons seized in 2009 – 4% of the world total.

The report also confirmed that the eradication of coca plants – from which cocaine is derived – increased sharply during the first six years of the administration of President Hugo Chavez, leaving Venezuela free of coca cultivation since 2006. Venezuela ranked fifth in coca eradication for the period between 1996-2009, behind Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador.

Cocaine consumption is lower in Venezuela than in the other major consumer countries in the region, the U.N. report showed.

Brazil and Argentina accounted for 33% and 25% of regional cocaine consumption, respectively, followed by Chile (10%), Colombia (9%), the Caribbean (7%), and Central America (5%), with Venezuela encompassing just 4% of total regional consumption.

The report also noted an increase in marijuana seizures in Venezuela and included Venezu-

ela among the countries that have carried out the systematic dismantling of drug laboratories.

The increase in drug seizures in Venezuela is consistent with a broader shift of successful drug enforcement operations from consumer countries in Europe and North America to supplier and transit countries in the Global South in recent years, the UN report showed.

FIVE TONS OF COCAINE SEIZED Just two days after the UN report was released, Venezuelan authorities seized a five-ton shipment of cocaine in southeastern Venezuela – the second largest drug seizure in the nation’s history, according to the Communications Ministry.

The operation dealt a strong blow to trans-Atlantic shipments of cocaine from the major producer countries – Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia – through Venezuela.

Venezuelan authorities intercepted the shipment of 5,052 kilograms of pure cocaine powder, which was headed toward Bilbao, Spain, following a 22-day investigation of suspicious exchanges of machinery between Spain and Venezuela, according to Venezuelan Major General Luis Motta Dominguez.

The cocaine was hidden in hydraulic excavating machines and

large transport trucks. During the operation, authorities arrested two suspects and issued an arrest warrant for a third who is allegedly a Brazilian citizen.

Minister for Justice and Interior Tareck El Aissami congratulated the National Anti-Drug Office (ONA) and the National Guard for the interdiction, and announced that total drug seizures thus far in 2011 rose to 21.9 metric tons following the operation.

The announcement coincided with the United Nations’ International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking on June 26th.

El Aissami made the announcement in an outdoor press conference alongside the commanderin-chief of the National Guard, the head of the National Guard’s anti-drug command, the president of the National Anti-Drug Office, and the second commander of the Guayana military zone.

CONTRADICTING US CLAIMS El Aissami said the UN report and Venezuela’s record of drug interdiction disprove ongoing accusations by the United States government that Venezuela does not cooperate in the fight against drug trafficking.

“Venezuela is not a producer country and we are not classified as a consumer country”, said the

minister. “Venezuela is a territory free of drug cultivation”.

El Aissami noted that the United States, in contrast, is one of the largest producers of marijuana and is ranked in the top cohort of consumer countries along with Spain, Italy, France, and Australia, according to the UN. Venezuela cooperated with the US Drug Enforcement Administration on anti-drug operations during the early years of the Chavez administration, then cut ties in 2005 on suspicion the DEA officials were spying. Since then, the US government has launched repeated diplomatic attacks on the Chavez administration, classifying Venezuela among countries that fail to effectively combat drug trafficking.

According to the ONA, however, drug interdictions increased from 202.6 metric tons during the period 2002-2005 to 233.3 metric tons during the period 2006-2009, and drug-related arrests increased from 6,836 people to 22,833 people during those respective time periods.

US drug-related accusations are just one among many fronts in Washington’s broad diplomatic offensive against Venezuela, which has intensified as Venezuela has increasingly challenged US hegemony and free trade policies in the hemisphere.

NATIONAL ANTI-DRUG PLAN Venezuela’s improved performance in the fight against drugs is the result of stricter and more effective law enforcement policies combined with an increase in programs to prevent drug use.

“The policies are clear and solid”, said Minister El Aissami on Sunday. “Never before had Venezuela achieved such tangible results as these, nor was it considered a country of reference in this subject, as it is now”, he added.

The National Anti-Drug Plan includes the destruction of clandestine laboratories, crops, and air landing strips, the establishment of drug incineration facilities, and the installation of body scanners in major airports.

The plan mandates collaboration and cooperation among state security forces including the National Guard, National Police, National Intelligence Service, National Criminal, Penal, and Scientific Investigative Agency, the ONA, and local police forces.

This high level of coordination has produced concrete results.

The government arrested 12,376 people on drug-related charges in the year 2010, an increase of 41.6% compared to 2009, when 8,741 drug-related arrests were made.

Also, the number of major drug traffickers wanted by the International Police Organization (INTERPOL) who were arrested in Venezuela increased from zero as of 2005 to four in 2006, five in 2007, 14 in 2008, 14 in 2009, and 17 in 2010, according to the ONA. For nearly four years, the ONA has worked toward the guidelines and objectives laid out in the “Integral Prevention Plan for Sowing Life Values 2007-2013”, the government’s drug prevention plan. The plan mandates a combination of recreation and education managed by local organizations in team with national coordinators.

In addition, the National Drug Plan compelled the government to endorse 52 anti-drug cooperation agreements with 38 countries.

T/ COI P/ Agencies

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4 | Politics

No 70 • Friday, July 1st, 2011

The artillery of ideas

Washington plans further actions against Venezuela The US government has been increasing aggressive actions against the Chavez administration in an attempt to isolate the major petroleum producing nation and aid in ousting the Venezuelan President

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uring a hearing last Friday, June 24, in the Foreign Relations Committee of the House of Representatives regarding “Sanctionable Activities in Venezuela”, democrats and republicans requested the Obama administration take more aggressive actions against the government of Hugo Chavez. The head of the SubCommittee on Foreign Affairs for the Western Hemisphere, Connie Mack, a Florida Republican, branded the Venezuelan government “terrorist”, saying “it’s time to act to contain the dangerous influence of Hugo Chavez and his relations with Iran”.

Mack is known for his rabid anti-Chavez stance. But however “obsessed” he may seem with the Venezuelan President, the republican congressman does have influence in the legislature due to his high ranking in the Foreign Relations Committee.

His efforts, along with those of the head of the Foreign Relations Committee, Florida republican Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, convinced the White House to impose sanctions against Venezuela’s state oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) last May 24. Mack has said that his only objective this year is “get Hugo Chavez”.

Last Friday’s hearing, devoted entirely to Venezuela, was attended by senior officials of the State Department, the Treasury Department and the Office of Foreign Assets Control. In testimony before the Committee, the Assistant Under-Secretary of State for Latin America, Kevin Whitaker, revealed the Obama administration is “seriously considering” labeling Venezuela a “terrorist state”. “No option is off the table

and the Department will continue to study any further action as may be necessary in the future”, said Whitaker.

The unilateral sanctions imposed on PDVSA came under the US Iran Sanctions Act, and include the prohibition of entering into contracts with the US government, loans from the US Import-Export Bank and certain technological licenses and patents. Nonetheless, this hostile action towards Venezuela did not have any real economic impact against the South American country because it no longer has agreements with the US government or loans from US banks. Furthermore, the sanctions did not affect the important oil supply from Venezuela to the US or the operations of PDVSA’s subsidiary in US territory, CITGO. However, the sanctions had an impact on diplomatic relations between Caracas and Washington, which were already in a period of deterioration. After the latter’s aggressive actions, the Venezuelan government declared relations with the United States “frozen”.

DANGEROUS TO DO BUSINESS WITH PDVSA According to the State Department, sanctions against PDVSA, while not impacting the country economically, “give a message to the world that it is dangerous to do business with Venezuela and PDVSA”, indicating that in the near future, Washington could act against those who enter into contracts or agreements with Venezuelan companies.

SANCTIONS AGAINST CONVIASA The lawmakers also demanded the State Department impose sanctions against the Venezuelan airline CONVIASA because of what they consider “support for terrorism”, based on flights between Caracas, Syria and Iran.

Without a shred of evidence, the congressmembers claimed the flight, which is no longer operating, was “carrying radioactive material, weapons, drugs and known terrorists of Hezbollah and Iran”.

To support this dangerous “accusation”, they cited a German newspaper, Die Welt, which had falsely published days before that Venezuela and Iran were building

a missile base in western Venezuelan to “attack the United States”.

In response to this misinformation, President Hugo Chavez showed footage of a windmill farm in same the location where “sources” had indicated the fictional Iranian military base was located.

MORE SANCTIONS Congress also implored the State Department to consider applying more sanctions against Venezuela, including “a ban on US imports” and “transactions in dollars”. Representatives of the White House said that although they are considering further action against the government of Hugo Chavez, which they consider to be “an adversarial government”, they must take into account the significant supply of Venezuelan oil, which comprises 15% of US imports.

Just days ago, President Barack Obama authorized oil exploitation in an environmentally protected area in Alaska, indicating that Washington is seeking to secure its energy needs before breaking the relationship with Venezuela.

SANCTIONS TO DATE In addition to the sanctions imposed against PDVSA in May, Washington already has taken aggressive actions against the Venezuelan government. In June 2006, the US classified Venezuela as a country that “does not cooperate sufficiently with the fight against terrorism” and imposed sanctions prohibiting US arms sales to Venezuela or those from any company in the world using US technology.

Since 2005, Washington also has classified Venezuela as a country that does not “cooperate in the fight against drug trafficking,” which should carry a financial penalty against the South American country. Yet, Washington clarified that since Venezuela has no loans in the US, the only support that could be cut would be those millions of dollars given annually to opposition groups who work to undermine the Chavez government. In order to avoid reducing those funds, the US included an exception to this penalty, stating it “would not affect US economic support to “pro-democracy civil society organizations”, thus ensuring continued support for the destabilization of Venezuela.

In 2007, the US Treasury Department sanctioned three senior Venezuelan officials, accusing them of ties to terrorism and drug trafficking, though the allegations were unsubstantiated. The officials included the Director of Military Intelligence, General Hugo Carvajal, ex Director of Bolivarian Intelligence (SEBIN), General Henry Rangel and ex Minister of Interior and Justice, Ramon Rodriguez Chacin.

The following year, the Treasury Department designated two Venezuelans of Syrian origin, Fawzi Kan’an and Ghazi Nasr al Din, as providing material support for terrorism based on alleged links to Hezbollah, considered a terrorist group by the United States.

All indications are that Washington will continue to increase aggression against Venezuela with future sanctions and attempts to demonize, isolate and discredit the Chavez administration.

T/ Eva Golinger P/ Agencies

No 70 • Friday, July 1st, 2011

The artillery of ideas

In response to a call for increased acts of aggression against Venezuela made last week by members of the United States House of Representatives, Venezuelan Foreign Relations Minister Nicolás Maduro declared that Venezuela will become stronger and continue to defend its national sovereignty under any circumstances

Politics

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Venezuela stronger in face of renewed US aggression

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ny threat or sanction that the United States makes against Venezuela will further consolidate us, because our country is independent today and it will be forever”, said Maduro when asked about declarations made during a hearing titled “Venezuela’s Sanctionable Activity” that was convened by the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on Friday, June 24.

“We repudiate the proposal of this Congressman Connie Mack,” said Maduro, referring to the right wing representative of Florida who now heads the House Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere.

“Our people are absolutely certain, they are confident and prepared not only to confront these threats that are made in the House of Representatives, but to move forward if they materialize”, Maduro asserted.

RENEWED RIGHT WING ATTACK The Republicans are currently the majority in the US House of Representatives, and they stacked the leadership of the Committee on Foreign Affairs with ultra right-wing hawks who have declared it their mission to remove Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez from power and halt the advance of regional integration and 21st Century Socialism in Latin America.

In the words of Minister Maduro, “The US Congress is under the control of a crazy fascist of the extreme right in the US – Connie Mack – who, along with Ileana Ros-Lehtinen [the Chairperson of the Committee on Foreign Affairs] has been imposing an extremist agenda against many countries in the world, among them Venezuela”.

During Friday’s hearing, Mack accused Venezuela of money laundering and facilitating the shipment of illicit goods including drugs; of supporting US-designated terrorist organizations including Hezbollah and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC); of supporting “Iran’s nuclear future”; and of using “every single dollar” of oil revenue to “undermine US security and prosperity”.

These accusations run against the findings of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, which found that Venezuela is among the top five countries in the world in cocaine seizures and has been free of coca leaf production since 2006.

Mack’s diatribe also contradicts Venezuela’s steadfast denunciation of the use of terrorism and guerrilla warfare and its advocacy of peaceful humanitarian solutions to the many conflicts, which beset the globe.

Mack urged President Barack Obama to consider Venezuela a threat to US national security.

“We need to look at all available sanctions, including designating

Venezuela as a State Sponsor of Terrorism”, Mack testified.

The congressman further asserted that previous sanctions against Venezuela’s state oil company by the administration of President Barack Obama on May 24 were “a step in the right direction but they are empty and do not enhance US security”.

The sanctions, premised on Venezuela’s alleged violation of the Iran Sanctions Act of the United States, placed prohibitions on contracts, licensing, and bank transactions between the US and Venezuela, but have had limited economic impact.

Minister Maduro said that to give into the pressure of these sanctions would be to turn back the clock on the Latin America’s struggle against US hegemony.

“No decadent empire can come here and try to establish with whom we can or cannot have relations. It would be the end of this world; it would be to go back to a world of vassals and slaves”.

Friday’s hearing was attended by officials from the State Department, the Treasury Department, and the Office of Foreign Assets Control, as well as congressmen

from both the Republican and Democratic parties.

NEW “VENEZUELA DEMOCRACY CAUCUS” Mack’s campaign against the democratically-elected government of Venezuela extends beyond convoking hearings.

On Friday June 24, Mack circulated a “Dear Colleague” letter in the US Congress inviting other congresspersons to join the new “Venezuela Democracy Caucus” that he created.

The purpose of the caucus is “to better educate our colleagues and professional staff on the abuses taking place in Venezuela with an aim on how to curb these in the promotion of a more democratic and free regime”, the letter said.

Among the “abuses” listed in the letter were Venezuela’s active use of the government to maintain fiscal stability, its “ties with international leaders who take a strong stance against the United States”, its efforts to make television and radio programming safe for children and more accessible to the public, and its inability to control the current crime wave.

Caucuses do not have any for-

5| mal power within the US Congress but they can indicate an advanced level of coordination among like-minded representatives.

VENEZUELA ATTENDS CONFERENCE AGAINST TERRORISM While Capitol Hill clamored with threats and accusations against the Chavez government, Venezuelan Ambassador to the United Nations Jorge Valero denounced the United States as a state agent of terrorism during the International Conference on the Fight against Terrorism, which took place in Teheran, Iran and was attended by representatives of 80 countries and international organizations.

US global actions “sacrifice the civil and political rights as well as the economic, social and cultural rights of peoples”, said Valero on Sunday.

“This sort of terrorism implemented by the imperial powers violates countries’ sovereignty”, Valero continued. It breaks “the norms and rules that regulate armed conflicts and protect civilian populations and prisoners of war, and it rejects the peaceful solution of conflicts, as established in the Charter of the United Nations”.

Venezuela urged the US to work with other nations to take effective action against terrorists, including Posada Carriles, a former CIA agent who is now protected by the US and is the suspected mastermind of the bombing of a Cuban civilian airplane, which caused the death of 73 people in 1976.

“The United Nations should foment cooperation among states to guarantee an effective and prompt punishment for those responsible for terrorist actions, whether they be persons, groups, or states”, Valero declared.

During the conference, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Paquistani President Asif Ali Zardari, and Afghan President Hamid Karzai presented a joint declaration in which they “committed to make efforts to eliminate extremism, militarism, terrorism, and to reject foreign interventions”.

The United States actively pressured countries not to attend the conference in Iran, which the US considers a state sponsor of terrorism.

T/ COI P/ Agencies

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6 | Social Justice

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ccording to Nancy Perez, Venezuela’s Minister for Women and Gender Equality, the social program Madres del Barrio (Mothers of the Neighborhood) has benefited close to 100,000 women since its initiation five years ago. The program supports single mothers living below the poverty line by providing them monthly stipends between 60 and 80 percent of the minimum wage and job training programs. Perez added that Madres del Barrio has allowed 10,000 women to overcome poverty and enroll in education programs.

The program works by identifying women in need, offering comprehensive care, organizing women in the same communities, and providing resources for the establishment of productive economic activities. These activities are enabled by loans granted by the government without interest.

Initially, 75 percent is provided to find a proper space to develop the economic activity and 25 percent for the acquirement of raw materials, clarified Perez.

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No 70 • Friday, July 1st, 2011

The artillery of ideas

Social program has benefited nearly 100,000 women

The women have five years to repay the money to the state and the first five months to establish businesses. In the sixth month, according to the planning process, the activity should become self-sustaining.

MADRES DEL BARRIO (MOTHERS OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD) Inspired by articles 75, 76 and 86 of the Venezuelan Constitution, Madres del Barrio was created by Decree 4342 on March 6, 2006. The program acknowledged for the first time that housework constituted an economic activity that creates added value and produces wealth. Its aim is to support single mothers who are in need so they can overcome extreme poverty. Similarly, this program seeks the inclusion of single mothers from low income households in social and community programs to provide them with job training, formal education and skills development.

T/ AVN P/ Agencies

Venezuela prison siege: jail directors arrested

wo weeks after deadly rioting sparked an ongoing siege in Venezuela’s notorious El Rodeo jail, authorities say they have arrested two of the prison’s directors on drug and arms trafficking charges.

Luisa Ortega Díaz, Venezuela’s Attorney General, said Luis Rafael Aranguren, the director of the El Rodeo 2 unit, and Ruben Jose Gonzalez Heredia, the vicedirector of the El Rodeo 1 unit, had been taken into custody.

Heredia is accused of “facilitating” the entry of guns, explosives and drugs into the prison, while Aranguren faces corruption and gun-running charges.

Violence at the El Rodeo complex, just outside of Caracas, began on June 12, with clashes between rival gangs leaving at least 22 dead.

Confrontations broke out again on June 17, after prison gang leaders threatened to hold hostage thousands of other inmates, making demands on state authorities. Security forces swept into the prison in an attempt to rescue hostages and disarm the facilities, triggering gun battles between troops and prisoners. El Rodeo’s rebelling inmates are said to control an arsenal that includes AK47 and R-15 assault rifles and

even a 50-calibre anti-aircraft machine gun. Government troops managed to regain control of El Rodeo 1, but up to 1,200 prisoners remain under siege in El Rodeo 2, though some have escaped the building and been rescued by state forces.

Authorities have blamed the stalemate on Yorvis Valentín Lo-

pez Cortez, a 26-year-old prison leader or “pran” better known as “El Oriente”. Reportedly a convicted murderer who took over de facto control of El Rodeo 2 in 2009, he is said to run the jail with support from a 20-year-old known as “El Yoifre”.

During telephone interviews with local journalists – part of

a propaganda battle between gang leaders collaborating with opposition groups against the government – El Oriente has accused security forces of committing human rights abuses and issued threats. “If the guards come into the prison many people will die, many guards and many prisoners”, he told private opposition news daily El Universal on Monday.

Private Venezuelan media, which carry a hard-core antiChavez editorial line, have given widespread coverage to the prisoners, even publishing their interviews and alleged photographs and videos, despite no verification of real sources. Many in Venezuela see this as a dangerous role for media to play, taking the side of convicted violent criminals as a way to discredit the government, which they criticize.

In a bizarre turn of events, videos from alleged prisoners inside El Rodeo 2 have been posted on YouTube, although there is no way to verify their origen or content. In one video, an alleged masked prisoner leader makes a plea for “international help”, falling in line with postures of the Venezuelan opposition who continuously seek foreign intervention to overthrow the demo-

cratically-elected government of Hugo Chavez.

Venezuela’s deputy justice minister, Nestor Reverol, declared to media that a small group of “delinquents” had in effect kidnapped hundreds of other prisoners inside the cellblock. “We will continue to ask these delinquents to give up. We will not withdraw our troops”, he added.

The government has taken all measures to ensure the human rights of the prisoners are respected and protected, even those engaging in violent behavior threatening the lives of others.

At no time have state authorities attempted to forcefully resolve the situation, despite the major danger the prison gang leaders present to the security of all in the vicinity. The Venezuelan government has affirmed it will continue to attempt to resolve the crisis through dialogue.

The riots come just as the Chavez administration is undertaking an ambitious reform of the penitentiary system, with the overreaching goal of humanizing prisons.

T/ COI with reporting from Tom Phillips P/ Agencies

No 70 • Friday, July 1st, 2011

The artillery of ideas

Integration | 7 |

New Latin American Community inauguration postponed On July 5, Venezuela would have been host to delegations from the 33 member states of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). The inauguration was postponed until the second semester of 2011 due to the recovery of President Hugo Chavez from recent surgery for a pelvic abscess

tricity Ali Rodriguez, who will take over as UNASUR general secretary next year.

During the press conference, Maduro further ratified the mutual importance of UNASUR and CELAC, “UNASUR as the great motor of consolidation and strengthening of South American Unity, and CELAC as the jump starter on a path to construct the identity and the unity of all of Latin America and the Caribbean”.

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he new organization aims to defend and strengthen sovereignty, cooperation, democracy, and social equity in Latin America without the intervention of the United States. Many countries in the region see the advance of CELAC as an expression of the original vision for which Simon Bolivar – the South American independence hero and namesake of Venezuela’s “Bolivarian Revolution” – fought.

As a symbol of regional unity, the conservative government of Chilean President Sebastián Piñera and the socialist government of President Hugo Chavez in Venezuela were selected to be co-coordinators of the summit, which is expected to take place later this year.

The unprecedented integration mechanism aims to become a representative body through which both right wing and left wing governments coalesce around their common interests and articulate their identity, independent from the region’s historic political and economic hegemon.

In the founding summit, the organization will prioritize a human rights charter, a fund for poverty eradication, food security, health, education, investments in technology, infrastructure, and drug prevention programming.

Also, delegates who attended the Fourth Meeting of Afro-Descendants in Caracas last week will propose that CELAC formally recognize the contribu-

tions of afro-descendents “to the constitution of the nationality of our countries”, and include afrodescendant organizations in CELAC initiatives, according to the vice president of the Venezuelan National Assembly, Aristobulo Isturiz.

The CELAC originated in a summit in Mexico in February 2010.

In a joint declaration that grew from that summit, and through several mini-summits since then, the bloc agreed on a common set of principles that include the sovereignty and equality of states, democracy, respect for international law and the Charter of the United Nations, and the non-use of force as a means to solve interstate conflicts.

The principles also include respect for human rights, sustainable development, international cooperation, unity, integration, and dialogue.

UNION OF UNIONS Although the CELAC will not formally replace any existing international organizations, the bloc is the culmination of more than a century of efforts toward regional integration, starting with Simon Bolivar’s efforts to unite the South American territory in the mid-1820s as well as the International Union of

American Republics that was established in 1889.

The largest such initiative in the 20th Century was the Organization of American States (OAS), which includes Latin America as well as the US and Canada and is widely seen to have disproportionately represented the interests of the US, even propping up right wing dictatorships in many Latin American countries.

Separate from the OAS, the Latin American Economic System (SELA) was founded in 1975 and includes 28 members, and the political consultation mechanism known as the Rio Group was formalized in 1990 following a decade of joint efforts at integration in the 1980s.

In 1991, the Common Market of the South, or MERCOSUR, also came to fruition to establish a common commercial zone with uniform trade and macroeconomic policies among its member organizations, which include Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, with seven other countries, mainly South American ones, that have shown interest in joining the bloc.

With the election of several progressive governments in the region since the turn of the century, new blocs such as the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our

America (ALBA) and PetroCaribe were formed to promote mutually beneficial trade with an emphasis on education, health, and other measures of social well-being.

Building upon these efforts, all 12 nations on the South American continent formed the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) in 2004 with the objective of establishing a space that uses dialogue and consensus as the means to peacefully diffuse potential military conflicts through a common defense council, work cooperatively toward the elimination of economic inequality, and increase inclusion and democratic participation.

Last week, the general secretary of UNASUR from Colombia, Maria Mejia, declared that the UNASUR is prepared to work hand-inhand with the CELAC. “Individually, we are strong countries; together, we are a powerhouse. The world requires that these emerging powers establish their own doctrines in defense and security, natural resources, physical integration, and diminish the asymmetries that remain in the region”, Mejia told Telesur.

Mejia made her comments in a press conference after meeting with Venezuelan Foreign Relations Minister Nicolas Maduro and Venezuelan Minister for Elec-

US EFFORTS TO IMPEDE INTEGRATION According to many Latin American analysts, Washington’s economic sanctions against the Venezuelan government in late May for the alleged violation of the US Iran Sanctions Act were aimed at delegitimizing Venezuela and discouraging other countries from having relations with Venezuela in the run-up the formal creation of CELAC. US attacks mimicked a series of declarations made by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the wake of a CELAC meeting almost exactly one year ago. Clinton accused Venezuela of waging a battle against “civil society”, and pledged to channel more funds to activist organizations that promote US agenda in Venezuela and worldwide.

The US proposed model of integration in the Western Hemisphere – expressed in recent decades through the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) – clashes with the principles of the CELAC. The FTAA pushes the reduction of state regulation of economic affairs, the privatization of public services, economic growth spurred by foreign direct investment, and the protection of intellectual property.

The waning of US influence in Latin America can be seen as more social movements, unions, community-based organizations, and democratically elected governments move away from the FTAA model and toward the principles of CELAC. T/ COI P/ Presidential Press

FRIDAY  J uly 1st, 2011  N o. 70 B s 1  C aracas

ENGLISH EDITION The artillery of ideas

A publication of the Fundacion Correo del Orinoco • Editor-in-Chief | Eva Golinger • Graphic Design | Alexander Uzcátegui, Jameson Jiménez • Press | Fundación Imprenta de la Cultura

OPINION

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Wikileaks: US Embassy requests funding for anti-Chavez groups

he latest Wikileaks releases include cables sent from the US Embassy in Caracas to the State Department, Central Intelligence Agency, National Security Council, and other US entities, indicating requests for additional US government funding for opposition groups in Venezuela. The cables corroborate documents previously obtained under the US Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) that evidence ongoing US funding to support anti-Chavez groups and political parties in Venezuela actively working to destabilize and overthrow the South American government.

One document dated March 2009, authored by Charge D’Affaires John Caulfield, reveals $10 million in funding via the US Embassy in Caracas to state and municipal opposition governments, as well as several NGOs, youth groups and political campaigns to counter the Chavez government. Curiously, in the confidential cable, Caulfield requests an additional $3 million (on top of an already-approved $7 million) due to a “change” in Venezuela’s “political map”.

“Given that the November 2008 elections and February 2009 referendum created a new political map for Venezuela, post requests an additional USD 3 million to increase outreach efforts to newly elected state and municipal governments, as well as to continue programs to strengthen civil society and prepare for the next round of elections in 2010”.

Caulfield adds, “...redoubling our effort is necessary to counter the increasing authoritarianism of the Chavez government”, indicating clear political intent to justify the funding.

The US diplomat was referring to regional elections in 2008 during which opposition parties won in 6 out of 23 states and dozens of municipalities. Apparently, the Embassy was keen on providing immediate aid to those regions to reinforce their efforts.

ILLEGAL INTERVENTION Embassies, consulates and diplomats are prohibited under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic and Consular Affairs from intervening in the politics and internal affairs of a host nation. Funding from foreign governments for political groups and campaigns is also prohibited and illegal in Venezuela,

of US funding, anti-Chavez student and youth movements have popped up during the past 3 years receiving overrated media coverage and foreign attention.

Another one million of this funding went towards preparing the grounds for the 2010 legislative campaigns. During 2010, however, an additional $57 million was provided to the Venezuelan opposition from both US and European agencies.

as it is in the United States. Nonetheless, Caulfield doesn’t hide his intentions when he writes, “...our effort is necessary to counter...the Chavez government”.

Caulfield also admits that US government funding helped create many of the organizations in Venezuela receiving the aid and that those same groups would most likely not exist or survive without US support. “Without our continued assistance, it is possible that the organizations we helped create...could be forced to close...Our funding will provide those organizations a much-needed lifeline”.

The majority of Venezuelan groups receiving US funding were created after 2002, when the State Department set up its unauthorized Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI), a political branch of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) in Caracas. That same year, a coup d’etat was executed against the Chavez government, briefly ousting the Venezuelan President.

He was later rescued within 48 hours by loyal armed forces and millions of Venezuelans. Those involved in the coup were all receiving US government funding and support through both the Embassy and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), an agency funded by the US Congress. The OTI, which has consistently fun-

ded and strategically supported dozens of Venezuelan political parties and NGOs with millions of US taxpayer dollars annually, abruptly closed at the beginning of 2011 after being exposed and denounced for its illegal meddling activities in Venezuela.

Nonetheless, President Obama has already requested an additional $5 million to fund opposition groups in Venezuela in his 2012 budget. This amount is expected to increase with funds from other US agencies in preparation for Venezuela’s presidential and regional elections next year.

The $10 million dished out by the US Embassy to local opposition governments and “civil society” groups was slated to “support local NGOs in order to work as watchdogs on issues key for democratic development”, i.e. against the democratically-elected government. Five million dollars were directed towards supporting political parties and local governance to help newly elected opposition governments “show delivery on promises made to the people during the November 2008 political campaigns”. Is this really where US taxpayer dollars should be going?

Another $4 million went to “interested political parties, to develop young leaders and increase outreach to...the Venezuelan youth movement”. A particular target

MONEY AND INTERVENTION Another US Embassy cable from September 2009, sent by then US Ambassador to Venezuela Patrick Duddy, recounted a meeting held between the US diplomat and three representatives from the small opposition party, Podemos. During the meeting, Ismael Garcia, legislator and leader of Podemos, specifically requested more US government funding and intervention to counteract President Chavez.

“As he has repeatedly done in the past, Garcia pointedly asked what the United States, through the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) or other USG (US Government) channels, could do to help Podemos.

Molina and Garcia suggested that US support could be used for Podemos to build an internet – or cable TV-based communications network...The Ambassador emphasized that the United States is not intervening (sic) in Venezuela, to which Garcia responded, “Yes, but now is the time to begin”.

What these documents evidence, besides illegal US government meddling and hypocrisy, is the ongoing relationship of dependence between the Venezuelan opposition and Washington. US efforts to undermine the Chavez administration have largely depended on the capacity of the opposition to destabilize the country and counter Chavez. After years of multimillion-dollar investments in these groups, which now depend on US government funding, few advances have been made. This scenario could explain the recent aggressive actions the Obama administration is taking against Venezuela, imposing sanctions and attempting to falsely and maliciously link the Chavez government to terrorism and portray it as a “failed state”.

Eva Golinger