I think I’ve written like 3 or 4 posts like this because every Sunday the president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, goes on his special TV and radio program and blasts off a few incendiary statements.
So every Monday I read what he said and when it’s interesting, I bring it to you. You can read two previous posts about this from March 21 and April 4.
It should be noted here that there was a failed coup against Chavez in 2002 on April 11, so he had a lot to say about it.
From Argenpress, the article below has been translated by yours truly so any mistakes are entirely mine:
Hugo Claims That Washington Ordered a Hit on Him
The president of Venezeula, stated that Washington ordered a hit on him during the coup. The president stated that according to a source he did not identify, a high-level government employee of a foreign country complained in a private conversation with the coupsters that they had not tried to kill him [Chavez]. Chavez also stated that the self-titled president of the coup, Pedro Carmona, gave the order to assassinate him [Chavez] but it was unable to be carried out.
Chavez reminded the audience that in the Fuerte Tiuna, where he was held prisoner at first, the young officers prevented his being murdered. “My assassins came to that place, they saw my face, but they didn’t do it. One of them shouted “we’ve got to ice this guy,” said Chavez.
He stated that when he learned that Army would not kill him they sent in the Navy but the sailors, as well as the soldiers, sergeants and young officers also refused to kill him or let him be killed.
Because of this, Chavez said, I amazingly managed to stay alive on April 12 and after that they didn’t know what to do, especially when they received a note saying he refused to resign.
Chavez, who considers that violence and terrorism springs from injustice, stated that the coup d’etat was set in motion to prevent the changes he had been implementing in the petroleum industry.
He stated that throughout Venezuelan history, whenever the government tried to use the petroleum to better the people they [the government] was brought down, and that’s what they tried to do three years ago this morning.
This April 11 is the third anniversary of the coup that, according to statements by the Venezuelan authorities, was organized and financed by the United States, in which more than 20 people were killed.
To commemorate the date, the government organized a day entitled “Coup, Resurrection and Sovreignty” to pay homage to the fallen and to the people, who together with the soldiers who followed the constitution, restored power to President Chavez.
The same webpage has a similar article about what Chavez had to say on his program Hello, Mr. President. Again, the translation is mine so all errors are mine:
Oil Was the Primary Reason for the 2002 Coup in Venezuela
The fundamental reason behind the coup on April 11, 2002 in Venezuela was oil, said President Hugo Chavez today, who warned that if anyone tried to take over the country they would regret it for 500 years.
On his regular Sunday TV and radio program Hello, Mr. President, broadcast this time from Carabobo State, Chavez criticized the irrational overconsumption that is threatening the worldwide supplies of hydrocarbons.
He reminded the audience that Venezuela has the greatest reserves of oil on the planet, a richness which increase in value as worldwide consumption exhausts these resources.
This (the oil) is the primary reason, he said, why the imperial power struck against Hugo Chavez. They pay newspapers and television stations, suborns militaries and friendships, topples governments and invades countries, so it can dominate the entire world.
For his part, General Melvin Hernandez reminded the audience that in 2001 the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) conduced the military exercise “Balboa”, which was a practice run for an invasion of Venezuela.
According to General Lopez, the theory was to divide the country, a situation which did not exist in 2001 but was what happened during the coup d’etat on April 11, 2002.
He recognized that it would be a terrible danger if NATO soldiers consider Venezuela an enemy.
On April 11, 2002, President Chavez was deposed for a brief period of time by the coup d’etat that, according to documents recently declassified by the American government, was financed and organized by Washington.
The situation was reversed two days later thanks to the action by the public as well as loyal military leaders, who freed Chavez from his detention at a military base, and returned him to the office of President.
I’m sure the English-language press will get to this story tomorrow (or the next day, who knows?) in some fashion, but I thought you’d like to know what’s going on. You can read the Narco News‘ excellent run-down on what happened during those three days for more information.
In other news, the OAS is picking a new Secretary General and Chavez also crowed about the fact that Francisco Flores withdrew his name from consideration last Friday. Flores, the former president of El Salvador, was the United States’ clear favorite.
The office is now up for grabs by two men, one a socialist from Chile (Insulza) and the other the Foreign Minister of Mexico (Derbez). Chavez said that Insulza would win but now I see that the first five rounds of voting ended in a 17-17 tie.
Oddly enough, Flores withdrew his name precisely because Washington was so enthusiastically backing him and many of the countries were considering changing their vote because of this:
Francisco Flores, former president of El Salvador and the preferred candidate of the US, dropped out of the contest last week amid indications that his popularity with Washington was not tilting the balance in his favour among delegates.
His withdrawal meant that the OAS will for the firt time elect someone not explicitly backed by the US.
Think about that for a while and what it says about the lack of success of American foreign policy in its own hemisphere…
This is cross-posted from my blog, where you are humbly invited to visit
Pax
