Analysis
Double blow to destabilization attempts in Venezuela page 7
Venezuela speaks strongly at UN Foreign Minister Elias Jaua has slammed the United States at the 68th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), labeling Washington and its allies as “hawks of war”. Accusing Washington of violating the UN charter, Jaua called on UN member states to stand up against “leaders of the United States and those that follow blindly behind them”. Much of the minister’s speech focused on allegations of US aggression, including against Syria. page 2
Friday, October 4, 2013 | Nº 178 | Caracas | www.correodelorinoco.gob.ve
Opinion
Blame it on Caracas: NYT manipulates US-Venezuela ties page 8
ENGLISH EDITION/The artillery of ideas
Venezuela expels US diplomats for conspiracy and sabotage
Fuel smugglers caught A truck from Venezuela’s largest food manufacturer, Empresas Polar, was caught with 39,000 liters of contraband diesel fuel. page 4 Politics
US expels Venezuelan diplomats
Social Justice
Community medicine advances Venezuela’s community doctors receive more medical equipment and training to improve care. page 6
Venezuela creates Strategic Center for Homeland Security and Protection T/ AVN
Politics
In a measure of retaliation, Washington kicked out 3 Venezuelan diplomats from the US. page 5
INTERNATIONAL
On Monday, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro ordered the expulsion of a top US diplomat and two other embassy officials from Venezuela for alleged conspiracy with the opposition. The US officials named were chargé d’affaires Kelly Keiderling, and two other embassy employees, Elizabeth Hoffman, Political Affairs and David Moo, Deputy Consul. President Maduro accused these officials of “meeting with the extreme Venezuela right to finance actions to sabotage the electricity system and the Venezuelan economy”. He later presented evidence backing his claims. Pg. 3
Miguel Cabrera: Top Hitter There is no better slugger in Major League Baseball than third baseman Miguel Cabrera of Venezuela, who confirmed on Sunday that he has in his pocket his third consecutive American League batting title, an achievement not seen in the last 24 years. The Tiger finished the regular season with a batting average of .347, much higher than that of his closest competitors Joe Mauer of the Minnesota Twins (.324), and Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels (.323). On the closing day of the regular season, “Miggy” celebrated having the best average in 2013, a distinction he also earned in 2011 and 2012, making him the first player to enjoy three AL batting titles in a row since Wade
Boggs won four in a row (1985-88) and placing him in the ranks of the best hitters in history. Cabrera is just the second Latin American to become a three-time batting champion, after Rod Carew of Panama 1972-75).
President Nicolas Maduro announced Monday that the Venezuelan government plans to create a Strategic Center for Security and Protection of the Homeland (known by its Spanish-language intitials, CESPPA), which will be under the executive branch and will be designed to strengthen political and strategic intelligence. The new Center for Security is based on a project developed by the late President and Commander of the Bolivarian Revolution, Hugo Chavez. “It is a center that’s going to function alongside the President of the Repubilc, and that is going to receive the extraordinary work done by our investigation, analysis and security bodies”, Maduro said. It will work hand-inhand with the Operational Strategic Center and other entities that carry out investigations. “It will be a Center that coordinates, organizes, and will elevate our capacity to know about and overcome, before it happens, any plan against the country”, the President explained. He indicated that announcements will be made in the coming days regarding attacks on the country’s electricity grid. The President praised the National Bolivarian Armed Forces and their work to strengthen the nation and boost patriotism. “It was quite some time ago now that our troops, our Armed Forces, broke ties with negative values… You are soldiers for the liberation of a people… to build a nation, to march alongside a brave people and protect and educate them”, he said.
2 Impact | . s Friday, October 4, 2013
The artillery of ideas
Venezuela has strong words for US at UN General Assembly T/ Ryan Mallett-Outtrim P/ Agencies
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oreign Minister Elias Jaua has slammed the United States at the 68th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), labeling Washington and its allies as “hawks of war”. “We are here to report a kidnapping”, Jaua stated during his address to the UNGA last Friday. “The kidnapper has many faces...but are still the same: imperialism”, he said. Accusing Washington of violating the UN charter, Jaua called on UN member states to stand up against “leaders of the United States and those that follow blindly behind them”. Much of the minister’s speech focused on allegations of US aggression, including against Syria. “Mr. President, Article 2, paragraph 4, of the Charter of the United Nations, exhaustively expressed that members of this organization ‘shall refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or independence of any state’”, Jaua stated. “However, the US President...threatens to bomb a particular country, if they don’t fulfill their unilateral demands”, he said. Jaua further took a swipe at US support for Syria’s armed opposition movement amid international calls for peace in the civil war stricken country. “How do some members of the Security Council of the UN think we can achieve this purpose [peace], by arming and protecting terrorist groups such as the Al-Nusra Front and Al Qaeda?”, he asked the assembly. “Many of these groups, linked to such heinous acts as the destruction of the Twin Towers in this city, deny the existence of anyone who thinks differently to them- be they Christians, Muslims or Jews and express a particular hatred...of women”, he said.
RESPONDING TO OBAMA Jaua also responded to US President Barack Obama’s address to the UNGA last week. During his speech, Obama defended US exceptionalism while justifying his administration’s
previous calls for international military strikes on Syria. “Some may disagree, but I believe [the United States of] America is exceptional, in part because we have shown a willingness, to the sacrifice of blood and treasure to stand up, not only for our own interests, but for the interests of all”, Obama stated. “Our charter of the United Nations, speaks of “equality of nations large and small”, [but] the US president said, just two days ago, that they are ‘exceptional’, that they are not the same as the other 192 countries that are represented here”, Jaua responded. The minister described this “inconsistency” as “alarming”. “Why not consider the use of drones...which have caused [the deaths of] tens of thousands of innocent victims, including children and elderly in northern Africa, the Middle East or in regions of Asia as crimes against humanity?” he asked. “Why not apply sanctions to a government that has for 50 years held an illegal economic blockade against the Cuban people?” Jaua said. He further criticized UN failure to establish an “independent Palestinian state”, and British refusal to negotiate
with Argentina over the Malvinas/Falkland Islands. “Is it because the elite United States and some of its allies are exceptional?” Jaua asked. “Seven years ago our Comandante Hugo Chavez said that it “smells of sulfur here”, and today, unfortunately, we must say that even those considered “exceptional” are smelling of sulfur”, he said.
MADURO ABSENT DUE TO “SECURITY CONCERNS” President Nicolas Maduro was originally slated to speak at the UNGA, but at the last minute he canceled his planned trip to New York, stating his life may have been in danger. “There were two serious provocations, one more serious than the other, how I understand it”, Maduro stated at the time. “As you know, President Maduro is not present in the General Assembly, due to a combination of delays, obstacles, constraints and lack of guarantees for himself and members of his delegation by the government of the United States, in flagrant violation of its obligations under the Headquarters Agreement of this organization”, Jaua said. According to the foreign minister, the alleged threat
to Maduro was part of a longrunning US campaign against Venezuela. “Countries such as Venezuela, who have chosen the path of deepening democracy with the socialist model of organization and popular inclusion, which enables us to meet the Millennium development goals established by this organization, are constantly harassed, demonized and disrupted in our political and social stability”, he said. Jaua wasn’t alone in his condemnation of US. Earlier in the week, Latin American leaders from Bolivia, Brazil and Uruguay and Argentina all delivered speeches condemning international aggression. “Those who decide wars are large arms industries, the financial system and the oil companies. Plutocracy has replaced democracy”, Bolivian President Evo Morales stated during his address to the UNGA. Washington copped further criticism from its southern neighbors the day before Jaua’s speech. On Thursday, the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our Americas (ALBA) issued a formal complaint to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon,
Accusing Washington of violating the UN charter, Jaua called on UN member states to stand up against “leaders of the United States and those that follow blindly behind them”. Much of the minister’s speech focused on allegations of US aggression, including against Syria. “The Charter of the United Nations exhaustively expresses that members of this organization ‘shall refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or independence of any state’” alleging that Washington imposed undue conditions on international delegations heading to New York. The complaint describes US treatment of some delegations as “inimical and irresponsible”. On the same day, Jaua stated that Venezuelan diplomats had been subject to extended questioning by US authorities. In a press release, ALBA stated there is an “obvious need to discuss the possibility of changing [the location of ] the United Nations headquarters”. The statement also calls for “solidarity” with Syria, and condemns alleged US international spying. Yesterday, ALBA met again, this time in Cochabamba, Bolivia. On Monday, Maduro stated that at the meeting representatives would discuss “ALBA’s consolidation strategy in South America and the Caribbean”. “We need to meet to discuss economic policies, production policies, the integration of South America, how to speed up the work of the various councils in South America [and] how to expand the market for our products”, Morales said.
. s Friday, October 4, 2013 | Politics
The artillery of ideas
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Venezuela expels three US diplomats for sabotage & conspiracy T/ Ewan Robertson and COI P/ Agencies
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n Monday, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro ordered the expulsion of a top US diplomat and two other embassy officials from Venezuela for alleged conspiracy with the opposition. “Get out of Venezuela. Yankee go home. Enough of abuses against the dignity of a homeland that wants peace”, said Maduro during a televised political event Monday afternoon. The US officials named were chargé d’affaires Kelly Keiderling, and two other embassy employees, Elizabeth Hoffman, Political Affairs and David Moo, Deputy Consul. They had 48 hours to leave the country. President Maduro accused these officials of “meeting with the extreme Venezuela right to finance actions to sabotage the electricity system and the Venezuelan economy”. “We’ve been monitoring some officials of the US embassy in Caracas…I have the proof [of conspiracy] in my hands”, he added. Maduro has repeatedly referred to blackouts and relative shortages of some food products this year as an opposition
Kelly Keiderling
attempt to “sabotage” the Venezuelan economy and destabilise the country. The Venezuelan President added today that he “doesn’t care” what the response from Barack Obama’s administration would be, declaring, “We’re not going to allow an imperial government to come and bring money to stop companies operating, [and] to take out the electricity to shut Venezuela down”. “Señores gringos, imperialists, you have before you men and women of dig-
nity that…will never kneel before your interests and we’re not afraid of you. We’ll confront you on all levels, the political, the diplomatic”, Maduro added. The US State Department responded to the declarations by stating the US “completely rejects” the Venezuelan government’s accusation of its officials participating in the alleged conspiracy plans. Venezuela – US relations have remained cold since the administration
ALBA nations take aim at US obstructionism, call for new UN headquarters T/ COI P/ Agenc ies
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epresentatives of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our Americas (ALBA) regional bloc met in New York last Friday and released an 11point declaration criticizing the United States for diplomatic obstructionism and electronic espionage. During the encounter of the ALBA Political Council, held in conjunction with the 68th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, the Foreign Ministers of the alliance’s eight member countries agreed to submit a formal complaint to the UN Secretary General for the treatment of foreign dignitaries by the United States government. The petition has been formulated, according to the statement, “to assure that the unfriendly and irresponsible actions of the government of the United States to prolong, delay, and make difficult” diplomatic visas as well as open airspace and enforce security guarantees “is not repeated”.
The charges come in the wake of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s decision not to attend the UN General Assembly in New York last week for what has been reported as excessive obstacles to his diplomatic team and other security concerns. On Friday, Foreign Minister Elias Jaua chided the US for denying Maduro’s
plane access to air space over Puerto Rico during a recent trip to China as well interrogating Venezuelan officials in order to grant visas for the General Assembly. “It’s important to reiterate that when we come to New York, we’re not coming to visit the United States nor the US government. We come to participate in the multi-lateral organization to which we belong”, Jaua said. Last week’s declaration outlined the need to relocate the UN’s headquarters from the United States to a country “that respects the international agreements which give sustenance to the work of the [UN] and materializes its principles and objectives”. The statement further decried the use of electronic surveillance by the US government as revealed by former National Security Agency analyst Edward Snowden earlier this year. ALBA nations expressed their “firm rejection of the global spying program implemented by the United States of North America which compromises the privacy of communication of govern-
of late President Hugo Chavez, who accused the US of supporting a shortlived coup attempt against his government in 2002. The two countries have not had an exchange of ambassadors since 2010. Attempts to improve relations this year were cut off by Maduro after the US new ambassador to the United Nations made comments about Venezuela that were regarded by Venezuelan officials as “unacceptable and unfounded”. On Tuesday afternoon, Charge d’affairs Kelly Keiderling gave a press conference to Venezuelan media, admitting US Embassy officials had met with opposition groups in Venezuela, but claiming by doing so, the diplomats were only “doing their jobs”. Keiderling was previously stationed in Havana, Cuba under the cover of Press and Cultural Attaché, where she closely worked with Cuban dissidents and aided movements opposed to the Cuban government. President Maduro presented a video on public television Tuesday showing Hoffman and Moo meeting with opposition activists in the southeastern state of Bolivar, where Venezuela’s main strategic resources and industries are located. The three diplomats left Caracas on Wednesday.
ments and citizens around the world, creating circumstances of insecurity and a lack of trust”. The document goes on to accuse the program of violating the sovereignty of foreign states and articulates the need to take joint action to ensure regional defense and the technological independence of member nations. With respect to the civil war in Syria, the Bolivarian Alliance restated its “commitment to peace” in the country and urged all Western governments, especially the United States, to “abide strictly to what is established by international law, especially in the case of searching for a political solution” to the crisis. Founded in 2004, the ALBA bloc includes Venezuela, Ecuador, Cuba, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Dominica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Antigua and Barbuda. The alliance was first conceptualized by former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in response to the Free Trade Area of the Americas commercial agreement promoted by the US government in Latin America. In opposition to the neoliberal economic and social policies devised in Washington, ALBA’s mission over the past decade has been to foster multilateral relations based on solidarity and mutual cooperation.
4 Politics | . s Friday, October 4, 2013
The artillery of ideas
Venezuelan National Guard intercepts alleged fuel smuggler T/ Ryan Mallett-Outtrim P/ Agencies
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uthorities have seized approximately 39,000 liters of allegedly contraband diesel, reportedly found in a truck bearing the logo of Venezuela’s largest food manufacturer, Empresas Polar. According to National Guard (GNB) commander Justo Noguera Pietri, the alleged contraband was found last Friday night in Bolivar state, and was allegedly en route to Brazil. “Our troops broke into the [vehicle’s] enclosure...and found 149 drums of 230 liters each, for a total of 39,000 liters”, the commander stated, according to AVN. “The fuel was transported in a vehicle carrying the logo of a private company engaged in the manufacture of beer”, he stated. The driver of the vehicle, Juan Salazar Limpio has been arrested, and the case has been referred to the Office of Public Prosecutions. Polar has denied involvement in the incident, stating that the vehicle was owned by a different company. “The company [Polar] strongly rejects the irresponsible statements in which it is claimed there is a proprietary link with the transport. It clarifies that the truck registered 790GAB and A04AB6D belongs to Transport Joar CA , an independent company providing moving services for finished products to Cerveceria Polar [Polar’s beer and malt subsidiary], from its plant in Barcelona, Anzoategui state to distribution agencies located throughout the eastern Venezuela”, Polar said in a statement. The incident is the latest case in a series of recent busts by authorities, after the government pledged to tackle alleged private sector misconduct. Officials have argued that some private entities are engaged in an “economic war” against the government. In September the High Commission for the People’s Defense of the Economy was established to coordinate efforts to counter the “war”; it is headed by President Nicolas Maduro. Since the commission was established, the government has sought to raise domestic pro-
ductivity, improve distribution, discussed increasing price controls, moved to improve access to foreign currency for importers and crack down on enforcing regulated prices and seizing contraband. A dedicated hotline for reporting misconduct has also been established. Also last month, Major General Hebert Garcia Plaza from
the Institute for Defense of People in the Access to Goods and Services (INDEPABIS) announced that over one thousand people had contacted the consumer protection body via the new 0800 SABOTAJE (sabotage) hotline. He made the statement after INDEPABIS announced it had confiscated 1,104 kilograms of
allegedly hoarded sugar by a Caracas retailer. “This is an act of irresponsibility that will be punished”, he stated.
BAD BLOOD: POLAR & THE GOVERNMENT Along with being Venezuela’s largest food producer, Polar is also the country’s big-
Sabotage denounced in the Caracas Metro T/ Paul Dobson P/ Agencies
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he Minister for Land Transport, Haiman El Troudi, publically drew attention to an increased level of attacks from opposition leaders and militants against the Caracas Metro System this week, in acts of sabotage he connects with the build-up to important elections on December 8th. “We have noted a systematic campaign of attacks, orchestrated from the opposition to sew chaos and stimulate destabilization”, he explained. “When elections are close, suspicious incidents start to occur, normally the Metro works perfectly”. In election periods, opposition sabotage has been frequently denounced by the government. Numerous individuals have been arrested in past year for sabotage, all belonging to the opposition. Sabotage normally focuses on the water, electrical, transport, economic, and oil infrastructures. Such sabotage is then vehemently denounced by
opposition leaders as examples of inefficiency and failings from the actual government, as they take advantage of the chaos and instability which their own militants create for their personal or party political goals. Amongst such “suspect incidents” which the administration of the Metro has recorded in recent weeks, El Troudi highlighted false mechanics placed in the system in Capitolio Station, close to the Presidential Palace, as well as
some strange events involving a stair lift in Chacaito Station. Both incidents are being investigated, he declared, with certain citizens already under arrest for the first incident. “In the build-up to an electoral process, strange and suspicious incidents start to occur… we are not left with the least doubt that they are induced by persons who are interested in destabilizing the Metro and creating chaos”, denounced the Minister.
gest private employer; with 48,000 direct and indirect workers. According to company figures, it alone produces 48% of basic foodstuffs. However, the company has long been accused of working to undermine the government. Former President Hugo Chavez said Polar held a monopoly on Venezuela’s food supply, and in 2003, company facilities were temporarily seized by the GNB during nationwide capital strikes. Soda, beer and bottled water were publicly distributed by troops. Earlier this year, Maduro alleged that the company was purposely lowering output for political reasons. “Polar, Polar, Polar, carry on with your sabotage of the people’s food, carry on...everything in life comes to an end”, Maduro said in the lead up to the April 14th elections.
POLAR DENIED THE ACCUSATIONS. Since then, the government has met with the company numerous times to try and resolve supply concerns. After meeting with Polar head Lorenzo Mendoza in April, Vice President Jorge Arreaza described their discussion as “productive”.
The Metro workers held a large rally this week to reinforce the policies of the administration of the publicly-run system. Messages from the workers included denouncements of the “campaign of attacks and discrediting from certain sectors of the oppositions against the transport system”. As a response to the acts of sabotage, El Troudi explained that “all of the installations and infrastructure of the Metro of Caracas have been safeguarded with the deployment of the National Bolivarian Police Force and the very same workers of the company”. The Caracas metro is considered one of the most up-to-date in the world. It has passed from transporting 500,000 people a day to over 2.2 million in recent years, and has incorporated numerous cable car systems, overland systems, metrotrains, and will link up with the train network which is in construction. Similar metro systems are being built in Los Teques, Valencia, and Maracaibo. Fares range from free to $0.23, and recently phone coverage, air conditioning, and new trains were placed throughout the Caracas network.
. s Friday, October 4, 2013 | Politics
The artillery of ideas
US expels three Venezuelan diplomats in retaliation measure T/ Agencies
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he United States has expelled Venezuela’s chargé d’affaires and two other diplomats in Washington in reprisal for the expulsion of three US diplomats from Caracas, both countries said late Tuesday. The tit-for-tat move comes a day after the expulsion of the US embassy officials, accused of plotting acts of sabotage against the government, the Foreign Ministry in Caracas said. The ministry called the US move unjustified, saying the Venezuelan diplomats had not been meeting with people opposed to President Barack Obama.
In Washington, a State Department official confirmed the Venezuelan chargé d’affaires Calixto Ortega Rios and the other two had been advised Monday they had 48 hours to leave the United States. “It is regrettable that the Venezuelan government has again decided to expel US diplomatic officials”, the official said. Venezuela has accused Kelly Keiderling and two others of meeting with the Venezuelan far right — the government’s term for the opposition — to finance President Nicolas Maduro’s opponents and “encourage actions to sabotage the power system and the economy”.
The two countries — at each other’s throats politically but eager supplier and buyer of Venezuelan oil — have not had ambassadors in each other’s capitals since 2010. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the allegations were related to the US Embassy workers’ travel to Venezuelan state of Bolivar, home to strategic industries and Venezuela’s main hydroelectric plant. “They were there conducting normal diplomatic engagement, as we’ve said in the past and should come as no surprise”, Psaki said. The oil-rich OPEC member country has been plagued by
worsening power outages since 2010. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro blamed sabotage by the “extreme right” for blackouts and food shortages. In an unprecedented news conference in Caracas, Keiderling said she and the other diplomats would leave Venezuela on Wednesday before the 48hour deadline expired. “The work of the embassy will continue. It doesn’t matter very much if it is one person or another” doing it, she said. She said that if the accusation against them was that they had met with Venezuelans then “it is true. We met with Venezuelans”.
Venezuela’s first cycle lane constructed in Caracas T/ Ewan Robertson P/ Agencies
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he first separated cycle lane to be constructed in Venezuela was inaugurated in the capital, Caracas on Sunday. The public work was opened in an event with the socialist mayor of the capital’s central Liberator Municipality, Jorge Rodriguez, and the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) candidate for Metropolitan Caracas, Ernesto Villegas. The cycle lane, constructed by the Liberator Municipality, is 2.4 meters wide and runs for one kilometer, beginning at the Bolivarian University of Venezuela to the south-west of the city center. It is separate from the main road and offers security to cyclists at any hour of the day. It is the first stretch in a wider project by the Liberator Municipality and its partner, the Government of the Capital District (GDC), to build a network of cycle lanes throughout the city. An extension to the first lane is already under construction and is hoped to eventually double the route to arrive at Plaza O’Leary in the city center. Cycling groups have responded warmly to the initiative, and yesterday praised the opening of the capital’s first cycle lane.
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“These meetings with civil society can be with [US-funded group] Sumate, they can be with a group of women, with mothers who have lost children or with an environmental group that wants to lobby for cleaning a park”, she said. “If we aren’t talking with these people, we aren’t doing our jobs”. “While the government of the United States does not understand that it has to respect our country’s sovereignty there will be simply be no cordial relations nor cordial communication”, Maduro said, speaking from the governmental palace on Tuesday. He also pointed out that never before had a US embassy official given a press conference challenging the head of state of the nation, clearly a sign of “US arrogance”, he asserted. “The day that the government of President Obama rectifies the situation we will establish new points of contact to discuss common issues”, said Maduro.
“We in revolution are giving spaces back to citizens and pedestrians which make the city pretty and pleasant to pass through, where there isn’t space for capitalism”, the official continued.
RECOVERING CARACAS
“Today one more recreational space is added to this revolutionary city. We’re fighting the battle against capitalism that has implanted an ideology where the person who doesn’t have a car is no one”, said Manuel Mijares of the Revolutionary Urban Cycling Movement. “The revolution of [former President Hugo] Chavez and [President Nicolas] Maduro shows that this isn’t the case; the bicycle is a great means of transport that puts the breaks on pollution and is beneficial for health”, added the pro-cycling activist.
The cycling lane initiative is part of the GDC’s “Free Wheel Caracas” plan, which also closes several of the city’s main streets to traffic every Sunday, giving a free reign to cyclists, skaters and joggers. Last Sunday Jorge Rodriguez announced that a fourth “free wheel” circuit had been opened in the city and that the plan had now run for sixty-nine consecutive Sundays. “The idea of this plan is that we get out our cars and take up the bicycle as a means of transport”, said the city mayor.
The “free wheel” Sunday circuits operate with water points and first aid stations, and trained staff are present on each route teaching children and adults how to ride a bike. According to Rodriguez, over 159,000 bicycles have been distributed to citizens under a lending scheme, while over 1.5 million city residents have participated in the initiative. “In the Fourth Republic [1958 - 1998] this city was planned for the exclusive use of vehicles”, said Edgar García, coordinator of the Liberator Municipality’s sport and recreation program.
During Sunday’s event, Jorge Rodriguez reminded Caracas residents of his efforts as mayor of Liberator Municipality to “recover” Caracas as a “city of parks and plazas”. Rodriguez and Ernesto Villegas are running as a team for the December 8th municipal election, where they hope to be elected as mayors for Liberator Municipality and Metropolitan Caracas respectively. Rodriguez said that under his administration of Liberator Municipality, and in partnership with the GDC, the capital city had begun its “comprehensive recovery”, with projects implemented in 400 neighborhoods and over 1 million square meters of public space recovered in the city centre and suburbs. As such, he asked city residents to give him and Ernesto Villegas their support in December. “There’s still a lot to do, a lot to recover, but we have no doubt that when Ernesto Villegas is the next metropolitan mayor and Jorge Rodriguez is again mayor [of Liberator Municipality], this will continue becoming another city for all”, the socialist politician declared.
6 Social Justice | . s Friday, October 4, 2013
The artillery of ideas
Community doctors receive more training and medical equipment T/ Ewan Robertson P/ Agencies
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he Venezuelan Ministry of University Education has launched a national plan to provide more teaching equipment and extra classes to students of Integral Community Medicine (MIC), in order to continue strengthening the trailblazing medical education program. In an event held in Caracas last week with 122 MIC students in their fifth year of study, higher education ministry officials handed out sets of otolaryngology (study of the ear, nose and throat) equipment. The teaching material is currently being distributed nationwide. “On behalf of all students, or as our much-missed Comandante [Hugo Chavez] used to call us, the army of white jackets…thank you for giving us this equipment”, said Alis Montilla, spokesperson of the 5th year MIC students present. Alejandra Reyes, the vice president of academic development at the ministry, explained that in addition to the equipment the national plan to strengthen integral community medicine would include
a special program of lectures and conferences for students. Along with more equipment and classes, the MIC program has been improved in recent years by having students begin hospital internships from their third year of study and introducing a set of specialized workshops for students in their final two years of the program. The minister of university education, Pedro Calzadilla, hailed the progress made since
the MIC program was established in 2005. “The task of [building] integral community medicine was begun by [late President Hugo] Chavez in 2005; it is one of the great feats that seemed impossible, as we didn’t then have infrastructure. We were asked how we were going to do it, and now we have”. The MIC program was founded in 2005 through an agreement between Hugo Chavez and then-Cuban
president Fidel Castro. Under the agreement, Cuban doctors working in Venezuela through the Barrio Adentro health program would train up to 30,000 Venezuelan doctors to cover the long-term needs of the newly expanded public health system. The tuition-free program is different from traditional US-style medical courses because in addition to training in the medical sciences, students are brought into contact with patients and communities from the first year of their six-year degree. Hugo Chavez was a strong supporter of the MIC program, referring to the new generation of trainee doctors as “doctors of socialism” and urging them to be community leaders. As a result graduates are expected to have a commitment free, public healthcare and treating the health needs of poorer communities. So far over 14,000 doctors have graduated from the program, and Minister Calzadilla announced that a further 8,250 would graduate at the end of this year. Further, since his election in April President Nicolas Maduro has committed to graduating
a total of 60,000 community doctors by 2019 in order to fully cover the needs of the public health system. “We must commit ourselves to this task the president has given us”, said Calzadilla, adding, “We’re checking our capacity, equipment, resources, [and] establishing how we can fulfill this task”. President Maduro has further ordered that the government ensure training for a greater number of health professionals in a range of disciplines for the public health system, such as bio-analysts, radiographers, nurses, dentist, optometrists, and physiotherapists. Postgraduate education is also being prepared for the community doctors who graduated in 2011 and are finishing their obligatory residencies in the public system. The government has recently introduced a range of policies to improve the public health system, after critics said services were being affected in some cases by a lack of medical supplies. Measures taken in response include setting up a new state company to liaise with the private sector in the supply of medical materials and equipment, plans to renovate hospital infrastructure, and an increase in doctors’ pay by 75%. As of 2012 there are 58 doctors per 1000 inhabitants in Venezuela, compared with 18 per 1000 when the Bolivarian government was elected to power in 1998.
in the country by augmenting and strengthening production, which will benefit all Venezuelans, which we know is a priority of this government, something that has been demonstrated”, he said. With the program, new scientific technologies will be
introduced in Venezuela to strengthen the development of the fishing and agriculture sectors. For the last 14 years, the governments of the Bolivarian Revolution have sought to guarantee the right to nutrition and food sovereignty.
Venezuela and UN Food and Agriculture Organization to work on fisheries T/ Agencies P/ Agencies
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delegation of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) met recently with Venezuela’s Vice Minister for Fishing and Agriculture Yenry Urrea regarding a plan to conduct new scientific research on this sector and the impact of the elimination of industrial trawl fishing in Venezuela. Urrea said that one of the objectives of the investigation is to evaluate the recuperation of marine ecosystems and take new measures to protect them. “The study is going to allow us to obtain an increase in the size and volume of fishing yields, which will allow us to take new measures regarding
fishing methods and seasons and develop technical norms for the protection of our species”, he said. The joint research project by the FAO and Venezuela’s Vice Ministry for Fishing and Agriculture is called the Socioeconomically and Environmentally Sustainable Fishing Program. It includes diverse actions to strengthen the sustainability of this resource using technology, technical assistance and specialized personnel from the FAO. The project will evaluate the current situation of fishery resources in traditional and nontraditional areas where trawl fishing used to be conducted. It also creates a pilot system of information and monitoring on
fisheries taking into account biological, economic and social variables for decision-making. Meanwhile, it will develop the socio-productive potential of fishing communities to diversify economic activity among local residents. With this plan, technology will be evaluated and introduced to promote methods of fishing with a reduced environmental impact. Local government representatives will also benefit through an increased technical capacity with regard to the sector. The FAO representative in Venezuela, Marcelo Resende, said that the plan will begin this December and last for four years. “This is an important strategy to promote food security
. s Friday, October 4, 2013 | Analysis
The artillery of ideas
Double blow to destabilization attempts in Venezuela T/ Paul Dobson P/ Agencies Two cases of attempted destabilization in Venezuela, both allegedly connected to powerful US interests, were blocked this week as the Maduro government launched a counter-offensive against plots stemming from the nation’s political opposition. A categorical response was given to a fake audio recording, circulated on social networking sites, which tried to divide and confuse pro-Chavez forces by suggesting that exPresident Chavez is not dead, but was kidnapped by the current leaders of the government and is still alive. In the audio, supposedly a recent voice mail left by Chavez for his brother, Adan, a voice which sounds like the late President can be heard saying “Adan, brother, how are you? I am here, recuperating. Little by little no? I found someone to lend me a phone… it was hard for me to find a way to send this voice message… today, on September 16th, I am more alive than ever”. Later in the message Chavez supposedly says, without naming names, that “the enemy has got in”, and that “lies have been told to the country and the world”. However, the government quickly declared the audio to be edited and fake. Chavez died on March 5th from cancer, after which his millions of followers were thrown into a deep period of mourning. There have also been suggestions that the audio is genuine, but that it is from September 2011 and not September 2013. At that time, Chavez phoned his brother before leaving to Cuba for a round of chemotherapy. The audio is of poor quality, and there are numerous cuts, suggesting editing by audio software programs. The reaction from the Chavista forces in Venezuela, still mourning a man who transcended politics and is loved as a father, a son, and a brother by millions, was fierce and pained. Adan Chavez described the audio as “a vile and disgusting fix up”, while the President of the National Assembly, Diosdado Cabello, called it “pervert-
ed, manipulative, and wicked”. The false audio was intended to “confuse and demoralize” the people as part of the right wing campaign for the upcoming December mayoral elections, claimed Cabello. “We wish Chavez were still alive!” he went on to pronounce. President Maduro told the nation that he was in no doubt of who was responsible for the audio, which he described as an “offense to the sentiment of the people”, placing the blame clearly at the door of Capriles’ personal assessor, and spin master, JJ Rendon, who currently resides in the US. “You know”, Maduro told the nation, fired up by the offensive indications of the audio, “that this ‘four footed bandit’, this ‘born by mistake’, JJ Rendon, is capable of imitating the voice of Commander Chavez, to say that he is alive and that we kidnapped him”. The head of state declared that those behind the audio have “no ethical or moral limits” and he went on to firmly state, “we have to denounce this to the world, so that they can see the type of crap which is in the Venezuelan political right-wing”. Furthermore, Maduro reminded listeners that in 1998 a group of opposition artists imitated the voice of Chavez in another false audio, in which “Chavez supposedly
said that he was going to fry the heads of the opposition when he won the presidency”. “If it wasn’t the voice of JJ Rendon in the audio, it could have been them”, he concluded. For his part, JJ Rendon responded, but at no point did he deny his role in the false audio, and to the contrary, he affirmed that such actions of his are “on the house… I don’t receive a cent for them”. Via Twitter he explained his motivation: “for me, you (Maduro) are illegitimate”. Previously, Rendon had admitted that, “I try to do everything I do as hard as I can. I try to control everything, and I know well the tools such as rumoring, I don’t negate it”. From his base in Miami, Rendon stimulates anti-democratic exile groups, financed by the US government, which connect with local opposition and Colombian paramilitary groupings to take forward counter-revolutionary actions in Venezuela. Diosdado Cabello described Rendon as “representing the lowest and most abominable of the human species, capable of betraying your own homeland just for money”, while Caracas Mayor, Jorge Rodriguez, described him as “the daddy of psychological warfare, the daddy of the all the trash which tries to muddy the immense memory of Hugo Chavez”.
“Very brave of you from Miami” challenged Maduro. “Come and give fight here in Venezuela. I tell you and all the conspirators: cowards, cowards, and a thousand times cowards”. In similar news, President Maduro denounced the active participation of three high level functionaries of the US embassy in Caracas in destabilizing and sabotage this week, resulting in their expulsion from Venezuelan soil. “Three North American diplomats… I have told the Foreign Secretary to expulse them from the country. They have 48 hours to leave! Get Out! Yankee Go Home!” exclaimed Maduro on Monday. Kelly Keiderling, Embassy charge d’affairs in Venezuela, Elizabeth Hoffman Political Affairs, and David Moo, ViceCouncil, clearly appear in evidence unveiled to the public which shows them meeting with extreme Venezuelan right wing activists, involved in alleged electrical and economic sabotage. “We aren’t going to permit an imperial government to come and bring money and see how they can stop strategic industries or how to turn off the national electrical grid”, stated Maduro. “What would happen if a group of officials from the Venezuelan embassy started to pay for the sabotaging of the US electrical grid?”
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Foreign Minister Jaua went on to reveal more details of the conspiracy in which the US embassy is shown to be complicit, with clear evidence made public and given to the US authorities following the 6-month investigation. The officials were first caught on camera meeting with opposition Governor Liborio Guarulla in the state of Amazonia, where they tried to instigate a pseudo-indigenous rebellion. Later, in Bolivar State, they are seen meeting with the political grouping Sumate, funded by USAID and Ned and long recognized as the organizers of violent destabilizing antigovernment acts, such as the frequent black outs of the electricity network. In Bolivar they also met with a right-wing trade union leader, currently involved in strikes within the strategic industries of the region as part of opposition plans to bring the economy to its knees. The comprehensive evidence presented by the Maduro government, which included photos, flight tickets, filmed meetings, cars with embassy plates, and clear video of the three functionaries, discloses what Foreign Minister Elias Jaua described as part of a “psychological war with concrete expressions”. An official statement from the US Embassy in Caracas “completely rejects the accusations”. Maduro went on this week to state that until the US Government respects Caracas, there will be not even cordial relations between the two countries. Maduro drew the parallels between US-instigated destabilization in Syria, part of a long term plan for intervention as expressed by Obama at the UN last week, and the undeniable actions of the three functionaries. “I ask all Venezuelans to not be drawn in by the craziness of the fascist political right which wants to apply the Syria model on us”. “It is important to be very watchful, a thousand eyes, they are looking for a weak point which leads to breaking and violence. They haven’t found it, and nor will they, but we have to be conscientious of this”, he explained. “They are conspiring every day, moving dollars and dollars to come and buy the consciousness of the new generation”. “We are watchful, now is when the tough attacks come, they will try to sabotage the local elections, to form scandals and to destabilize the country”, added Adan Chavez.
Friday, October 4, 2013 | Nº 178 | Caracas | www.correodelorinoco.gob.ve
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Opinion
Blame it on Caracas T/ Gregory Wilpert
“S
tepping up hostilities with the United States, President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela expelled the top American diplomat”, reads the first sentence of the New York Times’s coverage of the three diplomats President Maduro expelled on Monday (“With Accusations of Sabotage, Venezuela Expels 3 US Embassy Officials”, by William Neuman, NYT, October 1, 2013, p.A6). After explaining that Maduro accused the diplomats of fomenting sabotage and protest activity among the opposition, the rest of the article goes on to say, “The expulsions were the latest diplomatic swipe at Washington by Mr. Maduro since he took over for the country’s longtime president…” and that Maduro is intent on “painting the United States as an imperialist aggressor out to undermine his government”. In other words, it is the Venezuelan government that is worsening relations between Caracas and Washington and that the US government is an innocent victim of Maduro’s verbal and presumably not-so-diplomatic onslaught. The fact that the US first initiated almost every turn in the worsening relations between the US and Venezuela is conveniently omitted in Neuman’s article. For example, it was ambassador-designate Larry Palmer, in August 2010, who first cast aspersions on Venezuela’s military and thereby torpedoed his acceptance as US ambassador to Venezuela. Then, in May of 2011, the US imposed sanctions on Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA for doing business with Iran. Later in that same year the Obama administration accused four Venezuelan government officials of providing support to Colombia’s guerrilla, the FARC, and levying sanctions in these officials. Shortly thereafter Obama himself accused the Chavez government of restricting human rights and of violating democratic principles in Venezuela. In January of 2012 Obama proceeded to expel Venezuela’s consul general in Miami for allegedly engaging in a spying operation against the US while she was stationed in Mexico a year earlier. What happened was that she had met with
someone connected to the Venezuelan opposition who tried to entrap her by claiming to have information about US nuclear facilities. Other than meeting with someone who unsuccessfully tried to give her false information, she never actually engaged in any spying activity. Finally, the day that Chavez died, Maduro revealed that two US diplomats were meeting with Venezuelan military officials, proposing destabilization plans. Reading the New York Times on US-Venezuelan relations, one could get the impression that either none of these above-named incidents happened or that if they did, they were meaningless and do not deserve a reaction from the Venezuelan government. The fact that the Venezuelan govern-
ment did react each time and did not tolerate these actions can—in the NYT worldview—only mean that the Venezuelan government is either hell-bent on sabotaging US-Venezuela relations and/or that these actions are merely a smokescreen to distract from domestic Venezuelan problems. Distraction is precisely what Neuman suggests when he quotes Michael Shifter, president of the Inter-American Dialogue, “He [Maduro] needs diversions and distractions … The situation is so dire in Venezuela that he needs to find a scapegoat, and it’s convenient and politically so tempting to kick out US diplomats”, and Neuman follows up with his own comment that “the country’s economic woes are getting worse”.
Given the lack of information about earlier US actions against Venezuela, distraction appears to be a compelling explanation for Maduro’s apparently irrational attacks against the good-hearted Obama administration. Unfortunately for this narrative, the facts don’t quite fit. That is, while the article cites an unusually high inflation rate of 45 percent for 2013 so far, it fails to mention that inflation has been declining recently, from a high of 6.1 percent in May 2013, and dropping to 3.2 and 3.0 percent in July and August, respectively. Also, while economic growth has been sluggish, it has been fluctuating between 0.5% and 2.6% per quarter this year. Another area that is written about a lot is shortages, but these too have become less acute than earlier this year, according to official statistics. In short, while there are no doubt economic problems in Venezuela, they have been improving
recently, contrary to Neuman’s claim that the situation is “getting worse”. Once again, it seems that the New York Times is determined to present official enemies of the US as irrational and deceptive, while the US government is the innocent victim of these enemies. However, it really should not be all that difficult to believe that countries of strategic importance, such as Venezuela, which has one of the world’s largest oil reserves, would be a target of US covert (or not so covert) intervention. After all, in Obama’s recent UN speech he promised, referring to the Middle East, “We will ensure the free flow of energy from the region to the world”. We have no reason to expect the U.S. to treat Venezuela any differently, especially if Obama can count on the New York Times to provide the media distortions it needs.