Coup d'Etat Effort Rich & Sophisticated: Granma

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Granma Internacional Digital - April 17, 2002


THE PEOPLE AND THE ARMY: DECISIVE IN THE COUNTER-COUP

by Maria Victoria Valdes-Rodda

THE April 11 coup d'état led by Pedro Carmona, an attempt to take
power in Venezuela with backing from a faction of the army, was an
ephemeral affair. Barely 47 hours after President Hugo Chávez was
taken prisoner, the Venezuelan people restored him to his position
with demonstrable loyalty to the democratic precepts and legality
established by the Bolivarian Republic - the same republic that
right-wing sectors and foreign interference tried to trample
underfoot.

"While it is true that they were deceived for many years, while it is
true that they were manipulated for many years, while it is true that
for many years they were led around like sheep, it has been
demonstrated that the people have definitely awoken; they have
discovered their own strength and have become historical actors
constructing a new way forward," Chávez emphasized on April 13 when
he returned to Miraflores Palace, sending a message to the entire
Venezuelan nation, including his political opponents.

In the early hours of April 12, Caracas Mayor Alfredo Peńa ordered
repressive measures against the growing crowds of thousands of people
peacefully demanding the immediate release of Hugo Chávez, detained
in Tiuna Fortress, from where he was transferred to the interior,
beginning a brief prison "pilgrimage."

Those heading the coup attempted to increase its strength by
circulating the rumor that Chávez had resigned, when actually he had
refused to sign any document of that nature, which is why we was
transferred from one garrison to another, in a bid to secure his
resignation.

Chávez stated on his return to Caracas that he was treated with
respect by the soldiers in all the garrisons, as well as sensing the
support of many officers, thereby convincing him that he would
reassume his governmental responsibilities.

"The armed forces, their officers and the central structure have once
again demonstrated that, despite the manipulation and betrayal in
certain sectors of the armed forces, nevertheless the youthful bunch
of soldiers that I know is still there," Chávez affirmed upon his
historic return.

He likewise expressed his and the nation's recognition of Attorney
General Isías Rodríguez, who was among the first to reject the coup,
due to the lack of a written resignation by the president. He also
expressed recognition for "those two elements to which I have always
referred, and which constitute the most powerful force, after God, in
this Venezuela of today, in this process of unstoppable change, those
two elements that, deep down, are one and the same: the people and
the military, the people and the armed forces."

Thanks to the soldier guarding him - also named Rodríguez - who asked
if he had really resigned, the president - constitutionally elected
in 1998 by a majority vote - personally wrote out a note attesting to
the fact that he indeed had not resigned, and therefore remained the
sole legitimate representative of the people.

Despite the fact that the large private television networks, in an
overt move to confuse and manipulate the public, did not broadcast
what was happening when resistance to the coup began, Venezuelans
refused to believe the rumors about the end of institutional
government and proceeded to organize throughout the country,
particularly in Caracas.

The capital and the city of Maracay played a leading role in
reinstating the National Assembly and the retaking of Miraflores
Palace by the Presidential Honor Guard, and their courage - expressed
in the national anthem -contributed to Chávez's return.

PROSPECTS AND REFLECTIONS

The outcome of Carmona's fascist-style repression of the people was a
large number of wounded and 13 deaths. Carmona is currently under
arrest with 120 of his civilian followers, as well as some officers
who joined the ignominious coup d'état. All of them will be tried in
accordance with existing legal standards and the Constitution,
according to Defense Minister José Vicente Rangel.

"There are many things to review, there are many reports to receive,
there are decisions - some of them urgent - so that the country is
not brought to a halt, so that the things that have gone off-course
to a greater or lesser extent can be set straight, the places where
looting of stores has occurred, where there has been repression on
the part of certain police officers, and the anguish or great anguish
felt by millions of Venezuelans, so that everything can calm down,"
Chávez affirmed.

The essence of the president's speech on his return was a call for
good sense and unity while respecting differences, calling them the
indispensable basis for "the rebirth of the rebirth" of Venezuelan
society which, according to Chávez, needs a period of rectification
and analysis.

"I do not come with a spirit of revenge. There will be no
persecutions here or abuses or violation of freedom of expression and
thought, of human rights in a general sense, but things have to
return to the institutional framework," he affirmed.

Recent events in Venezuela were "cooked up" by right-wing groups some
months back, in reaction to 48 laws promulgated in various national
spheres.

On April 6, the Venezuelan Workers Federation (CTV) and Fedecámaras
backed a national lockdown demanding that the decision to replace the
new executive of Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVESA) be revoked.

After his reinstatement, Chávez announced that on the day of the coup
he had received and accepted the resignations of the PDVESA
executives, and he called on the business sector, all the political
parties and the media to reflect on this matter.

"I also have to reflect on many things, as I have been doing over
these hours, and this has led me to lessons that I will not forget,
after so much thought and so much anguish," he confided. Later in his
speech he affirmed that he had come back prepared to "rectify what I
have to rectify, but I should not be the only one."


                        *


NY TIMES CONFIRMS REICH-CARMON TIES

THE confirmation arrived quickly: Otto Reich was the true mastermind
of the coup in Caracas. Reich mini-managed every move the coup
leaders took, according to an April 17 article in The New York Times,
which -- paradoxically -- tries to minimize the U.S. role in those
events.

According to the daily, Reich personally advised coup leader Pedro
Carmona, in telephone conversations. The State Department has said
that it was consulted about the coup, days before it was carried out,
and now it is trying to cover its tracks by saying that it
recommended that Carmona not dissolve the national legislature,
according to the Times. This is an implicit admission that the Bush
administration did indeed support the coup.

Although the White House denies its role in the recent events in
Venezuela, the prestigious U.S. newspaper based its detailed report
on statements by U.S. government officials, who attempted to absolve
the Bush administration of any responsibility.

The Times reported with absolute certainty that Reich had contact
with Chávez's successor on the very day of the coup d'état.

The CIA, the Pentagon and the State Department are thoroughly
contaminated with the virus of intervention, and the only cover-up
the White House could manufacture, presented by its spokesperson Ari
Fleisher, is that members of the administration had met with the
conspirators, but he stressed that the United States did not plan to
support the coup.

TWO COUP PLOTS: THE CIA'S AND THE STATE DEPARTMENT'S

Meanwhile, a report issued by the private U.S. agency called
Strategic Forecasting (Stratfor), published in the Mexican daily La
Jornada, states that there were two separate U.S. plans for a coup
against the Chávez government. Stratfor, composed of former CIA
agents, indicated that both the CIA and the State Department advised
the anti-Chávez forces in their efforts to bring down the
democratically elected Venezuelan president.

Stratfor added that the CIA-backed opposition had originally planned
the coup for February 27, but were convinced to abort that attempt.

                              *


CUBAN DIPLOMATS DECORATED IN CARACAS

CARACAS (PL)--The Cuban government paid tribute to its diplomatic
personnel in Venezuela for their firm stand against those attempting
to break into the embassy there.

During the brief duration of the so-called transitional government,
imposed by a coup d'état, Venezuelan and Cuban-born
counterrevolutionaries living in Miami attacked the mission.

The attack was directed against the embassy, consulate and
ambassador's residence, but the staff in those buildings did not
allow them entry.

On April 16, a delegation headed by Foreign Minister Felipe Pérez
Roque traveled to Caracas, and in a moving ceremony - proposed by
President Fidel Castro - 28 Cuban diplomats were decorated with the
Calixto García Medal of Valor and 17 with the Internationalist
Fighter Medal, second grade. Cuban children present during the siege
were given diplomas in recognition of their response.

Also present at the ceremony were Venezuelan Minister of Education
Aristóbulo Izturiz, Minister of Labor María Cristina Iglesias, and
Minister of Health and Social Development María Urbaneja.

Other guests were Adán Chávez, president of the National Land
Institute; Freddy Bernal, mayor of the Caracas municipality of
Libertador; Liborio Guaripa, governor of the state of Amazonas;
Venezuelan Deputy Foreign Minister Arévalo Méndez; and Julio Montes,
Venezuelan ambassador in Cuba.

(c) 2002 Granma International Digital. All rights reserved.
 
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