Reuters' Garcia-Zarza Still Spinning Away Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit (comments in brackets throughout by Karen Wald) Reuters' Garcia-Zarza Still Spinning Away source - Karen Wald [Given all that has been revealed about the role of corporate media in preparing and justifying the coup in Venezuela, Reuters' Isabel Garcia-Zarza has a LOT of gall talking about what "state-run media" in Cuba had to say. This is a bald attempt to continue spinning things their way, twisting Cuba's appeal to other nations to reject the oil-company-led coup and not allow them to take Chavez' life, into a supposed refutation of Cuba's stated position on Saturday. At that time the golpistas' [I would have translated that putschists or coup-makers; Reuters coined the term "coupsters"] were trying [through their controlled press] to give the idea that Chavez had resigned and was seeking asylum in Cuba. Cuba, knowing Chavez had done no such thing, and that people in Venezuela were already mounting a struggle to defend their president and his presidency, responded that this was untrue, and that if the golpistas forcibly put him on a plane to Havana, they would help him fly right back to where he belonged and wanted to be. --Karen Wald] Reuters - 19 Apr 2002 CUBA: Castro confirms plan to rescue Chavez during coup. By Isabel Garcia-Zarza HAVANA, April 19 (Reuters) - Cuban President Fidel Castro confirmed on Friday he sought help from various countries to rescue friend and ally Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez as a coup unfolded in the South American country last week. [Note that at the time the "independent" Reuters was NOT calling it a coup; was following the official corporate line that Chavez had resigned and it was all his own fault.] Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar first reported the rescue effort on Wednesday, which was later confirmed by Havana-based diplomats. Castro said Havana's attempt to come to Chavez's aid was out of fear he was ready to die defending his presidency. "We did it in the early morning hours of Friday, April 12, to avoid his sacrificing himself in the Miraflores palace with 300 other leaders and the honor guard," Castro told the state-run daily, Juventud Rebelde, promising to give more details of the last-ditch effort at another time. Cuba's rescue effort never materialized because within hours Chavez surrendered to dissident military officers. Chavez, a fiery populist, was swept back into office by mass demonstrations just 48 hours later. SUMMONED AMBASSADORS Diplomatic sources said Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque summoned ambassadors from about 20 countries to a meeting in the early hours of April 12 as events unfolded in Venezuela. "The Cubans were worried Chavez would die and wanted us to save him," a diplomat said.[which?] "They even proposed sending a plane to go in and get him with ambassadors on board as protection," he added, "but they called it off a few hours later after Chavez was taken into custody." A day later, on April 13, when Chavez was on the verge of regaining power, rumors spread in Venezuela he was headed for exile in Cuba. Havana quickly termed the rumors lies of "fascist coupsters," desperate to buy time as their revolt crumbled. "If the coupsters brought Chavez by force to Cuba, our best and quickest plane would be ready to return him to the heroic people of his country who await him," the government said. Cuba was shocked by the overnight downfall of its strongest ally in Latin America, and overjoyed when he regained power. The state-run media followed events blow by blow and even became a conduit for Chavez's family to refute military claims he had resigned. [Cuban press was accurately reporting the truth of what happened in Venezuela, and the fact that he had not resigned, relayed by a phone call from Chavez' daughter, who had spoken to him on the phone. [Would that Reuters and other corporate media had so faithfully reported the facts. At the time, they were saying that Chavez HAD resigned, not that the military "claimed" it; on the contrary, they were saying that the family, or Cuba, "claimed" Chavez had not. It was very easy to see where their biases were.] Since Chavez came to power more than three years ago, Venezuela has become Cuba's No. 1 oil supplier and trading partner at more than $1 billion a year. Hundreds of Cubans are in Venezuela on sports and cultural exchanges, while scores of Venezuelans receive free health care in Cuba. (C) Reuters Limited 2002. ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytcari-04.20.02-16:40:44-27040