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DU'ers have discussed some incursions in the past. One of the events was serious enough that Uribe had to meet with Chavez and apologize to him in a meeting which lasted six hours. Previous information discussed at D.U.: The Venezuelan elite imports soldiers
by Marta Harnecker
May 23, 2004
~snip~
A week earlier, on the 9th of May, on the outskirts of Caracas, a paramilitary force was discovered, dressed in field uniforms. Later, more were found, raising the total to 130, leaving open the possibility that there are still more in the country. The three Colombian paramilitary leaders of the group are members of the Autonomous Self-Defense Forces (AUC) in Northern Santander state in Colombia.
Some of the captured Colombian fighters have a long history as members of paramilitary forces. Others are reservists of the Colombian army and yet others were specifically recruited for the task in Venezuela and were surely tricked. Among these there are several who are minors.
A colonel of the Venezuelan air force was also detained, as well as seven officers of the National Guard. Among those implicated in the plot is a group of civilians headed by the Cuban Roberto Alonso, creator of the 'guarimbas,'<1> and Gustavo Quintero Machado, a Venezuelan, both who are currently wanted by the Venezuelan justice system.
What the real objectives were is now being discussed. One of them could have been to steal weapons so as to then attack the Miraflores presidential palace and President Chavez himself.
The government denounced the existence of an international plot in which the governments of the United States and of Colombian would be involved. U.S. Ambassador Shapiro denied that his country had any participation in the incident. And the Colombian president, for his part, solidarized himself with the Venezuelan government, affirming that he supports its actions against the members of the irregular Colombian military group, which then caused Chavez to publicly announce that he was convinced that President Alvaro Uribe did not have anything to do with the plot, even though he insisted on leveling charges against a Colombian general by the name of Carreño.
Even though the oppositional media conducted a big campaign to minimize the issue, trying to accuse the government of having organized a montage, so as to have a pretext for taking forceful measures that would impede a confrontation at the voting booth, every day more evidence surfaces that confirm the official version.
The Colombian attorney general's office has evidence that proves that paramilitary fighters were recruited and then transported to Venezuela and that extreme right-wing groups infiltrated intelligence services in the border town of Cúcuta. The proof was shown on the news program 'The Independent Network.' The program broadcast some intercepted recordings of paramilitary soldiers in Cúcuta, in which the operations they carried out in Venezuelan territory are reviewed. More: http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=5579 ~~~~~~~~~~~~ By the way, the previous head of Uribe's national security department, Jorge Noguera, who fled and was located by INTERPOL, and returned for trial, has ADMITTED recently he knew of this. It was discussed fully here, over and over.President verbally attacks media for reporting allegations of criminal activity by intelligence agency
(HRW/IFEX) - The following is a Human Rights Watch press release:
Colombia: Uribe Must End Attacks on Media
Government Should Investigate Charges of Extrajudicial Executions, Fraud
(New York, April 17, 2006) - Instead of attacking the news media for reporting allegations of criminal activity in a Colombian intelligence agency, President Álvaro Uribe should ensure a full investigation of the charges, Human Rights Watch said today.
Over the last two weeks, major news media have extensively reported on allegations of paramilitary infiltration of the Colombian executive branch's intelligence agency (Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad, or DAS), targeted killings of labor union leaders and academics, and electoral fraud in the 2002 presidential elections. President Uribe has reacted by charging the news media with being dishonest and malicious, and with harming Colombian democratic institutions.
"Journalists are obliged to cover these alarming allegations of corruption and human rights abuses by the presidency's intelligence service," said José Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch. "President Uribe's aggressive response raises suspicion about whether he actually wants the truth known, and has a chilling effect on the exercise of freedom of expression."
Uribe singled out individual commentators and journalists, including Alejandro Santos, who directs the prestigious newsmagazine Semana, and Ramiro Bejarano, a distinguished attorney appointed to a high-level commission established last year to investigate corruption in the DAS.
The allegations were made by a former senior official at the DAS, Rafael García, who is currently under investigation for allegedly laundering money and erasing the records of several people from the DAS database.
According to García's statements to prosecutors and journalists, for approximately three years the DAS worked in extremely close contact with several paramilitary groups, particularly the "Northern Block" led by paramilitary commander "Jorge 40." He claims that these links were established by Jorge Noguera, then director of the DAS and currently the Colombian Consul in Milan. Among García's many detailed allegations, which have received extensive coverage in Colombia, are:
- Extrajudicial executions of labor union leaders: García states that during this period, the DAS provided the paramilitaries with lists of labor union leaders and academics, many of whom were subsequently threatened or killed.
- Electoral fraud: According to García, Noguera collaborated with the paramilitaries to carry out massive electoral fraud when he was Uribe's campaign director in Magdalena state during the 2002 presidential elections. García alleges that the fraud resulted in 300,000 additional votes for Uribe. A similar plan, he claims, had also been implemented in congressional elections in several northern states. If proven, his allegations would confirm recent studies attributing highly unusual voting patterns in the 2002 congressional elections to electoral fraud.
- Political assassination in Venezuela: García recently said in an interview that the DAS collaborated with paramilitaries in a plot to assassinate several Venezuelan leaders, including President Hugo Chavez and a prosecutor, Danilo Anderson. More than 100 alleged paramilitaries were arrested near the Venezuelan capital of Caracas, and a few months later, Anderson was killed. Based on testimony by one of those arrested, Venezuelan authorities have charged former DAS director Noguera with knowledge of the alleged plot. More: http://www.ifex.org/colombia/2006/04/17/president_verbally_attacks_media/http://www.embavenez-us.org.nyud.net:8090/uploaded_pics/158_2.jpg http://www.embavenez-us.org.nyud.net:8090/uploaded_pics/158_1.jpg
Colombian paramilitaries captured at a ranch owned by Cuban right-wing “exile” Roberto AlonsoJanuary 25, 2005 The Granda Kidnapping Explodes The US / Colombia Plot Against Venezuela By JAMES PETRAS A major diplomatic and political conflict has exploded between Colombia and Venezuela after the revelation of a Colombian government covert operation in Venezuela, involving the recruitment of Venezuelan military and security officers in the kidnapping of a Colombian leftist leader. Following an investigation by the Venezuelan Ministry of Interior and reports and testimony from journalists and other knowledgeable political observers it was determined that the highest echelons of the Colombian government, including President Uribe, planned and executed this onslaught on Venezuelan sovereignty. Once direct Colombian involvement was established, the Venezuelan government demanded a public apology from the Colombian government while seeking a diplomatic solution by blaming Colombian Presidential advisers. The Colombian regime took the offensive, launching an aggressive defense of its involvement in the violation of Venezuelan sovereignty and, beyond that, seeking to establish in advance, under the rationale of "national security" the legitimacy of future acts of aggression. As a result President Chavez has recalled the Venezuelan Ambassador from Bogota, suspended all state-to-state commercial and political agreements pending an official state apology. In response the US Government gave unconditional support to Colombian violation of Venezuelan sovereignty and urged the Uribe regime to push the conflict further. What began as a diplomatic conflict over a specific incident has turned into a major, defining crises in US and Latin American political relations with potentially explosive military, economic and political consequences for the entire region. In justifying the kidnapping of Rodrigo Granda, the Colombian leftist leader, the Uribe regime has promulgated a new foreign policy doctrine which echoes that of the Bush Administration: the right of unilateral intervention in any country in which the Colombian government perceives or claims is harboring or providing refuge to political adversaries (which the regime labels as "terrorists") which might threaten the security of the state. The Uribe doctrine of unilateral intervention echoes the preventive war speech, enunciated in late 2001 by President Bush. Clearly Uribe's action and pronouncement is profoundly influenced by the dominance that Washington exercises over the Uribe regime's policies through its extended $3 billion dollar military aid program and deep penetration of the entire political-defense apparatus. Uribe's offensive military doctrine involves several major policy propositions: 1.) The right to violate any country's sovereignty, including the use of force and violence, directly or in cooperation with local mercenaries.
2.) The right to recruit and subvert military and security officials to serve the interests of the Colombian state.
3.) The right to allocate funds to bounty hunters or "third parties" to engage in illegal violent acts within a target country.
4.) The assertion of the supremacy of Colombian laws, decrees and policies over and against the sovereign laws of the intervened country More: http://www.counterpunch.org/petras01252005.html http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk.nyud.net:8090/media/images/40133000/jpg/_40133929_paramilitaries_ap_203body.jpg
More captured Colombian paramilitariesPublished on Monday, May 17,
by the Agence France Presse
Thousands Protest Colombian Paramilitary Presence in Venezuela
Chavez to Set up 'People's Militia'
President Hugo Chavez announced his government would establish "people's militias" to counter what he called foreign interference after an alleged coup plot by Colombian paramilitaries Caracas claims was financed by Washington.
Chavez also said he would boost the strength of Venezuela's armed forces as part of a new "anti-imperialist" phase for his government.
"Each and every Venezuelan man and woman must consider themselves a soldier," said Chavez.
"Let the organization of a popular and military orientation begin from today."
The president's announcement came a week after authorities arrested 88 people described as Colombian paramilitaries holed up on property belonging to a key opposition figure. More: http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0517-04.htm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~12.30pm update
Colombian paramilitaries arrested in Venezuela
Jeremy Lennard and agencies
Monday May 10, 2004
Venezuelan police have arrested more than 70 Colombian paramilitary fighters who were allegedly plotting to strike against the government in Caracas, according to the country's president, Hugo Chávez.
Opposition leaders, however, were quick to dismiss the president's claim, calling the raids on a farm less than 10 miles from the capital a ruse to divert attention from their efforts to oust Mr Chávez in a recall vote.
During his weekly radio and TV broadcast, Hello Mr President, Mr Chávez said that 53 paramilitary fighters were arrested at the farm early on Sunday and another 24 were picked up after fleeing into the countryside.
The country's security forces were uncovering additional clues and searching for more suspects, he said, adding that the arrests were proof of a conspiracy against his government involving Cuban and Venezuelan exiles in Florida and neighbouring Colombia. More: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2004/may/10/venezuela.jeremylennardhttp://www.voltairenet.org.nyud.net:8090/IMG/jpg/paramilitares-copia-3.jpg
More captured Colombian paramilitariesThree Venezuelan Officers and 27 Colombians Sentenced for Assassination Plot
A Venezuelan military court sentenced three Venezuelan military officers and 27 Colombians to two to nine years of prison for plotting an assault on Venezuela’s presidential palace and the assassination of President Hugo Chavez.Another 73 Colombians and 3 Venezuelan officers, who had also been suspected of participating in the plot, were freed after spending 17 months in prison.
118 Colombians were captured in May 2004 on a ranch just outside of Caracas, wearing Venezuelan military fatigues. Many of them appeared to be Colombian paramilitary fighters who had been recruited for a mission in Venezuela to attack the Chavez government and to kill the president. Six Venezuelan officers were also arrested in the course of the investigation.
Some of the Colombians were peasants who had been lured to come to Venezuela with the promise of jobs. Upon arriving, though, they were forced to engage in paramilitary training exercises and were forbidden to leave the ranch. 18 of the Colombians were released immediately after the capture and returned to Colombia because they were minors between 15 and 17 years. The ranch belongs to Roberto Alonso, a prominent Cuban-Venezuelan opposition activist. The highest level officer to be sentenced was General Ovidio Poggioli, who had been charged with military rebellion and was sentenced to 2 years and ten months of prison. The other two Venezuelan officers are Colonel Jesús Farias Rodríguez and Captain Rafael Farias Villasmil, who were each sentenced to nine years of prison. The 27 Colombians were each sentenced to six years prison.
When the group of Colombians were first arrested, many opposition leaders argued that the government had staged the arrests, in order to make the opposition look bad. They pointed out that no weapons were found with the paramilitary fighters and that the whole operation looked far too amateurish to have any chance of success. Also, it was argued that it is practically impossible to transport 120 Colombian paramilitary fighters undetected all the way from Colombia to Caracas, considering that there are numerous military control points along the way. More: http://www.voltairenet.org/article130297.html More captured Colombian paramilitaries, and their temporary quarters at the ranch owned by Cuban "exile" Roberto Alonso, who promotes guarimba (violent opposition) against Hugo Chavez: http://www.venezuelanalysis.com.nyud.net:8090/images/2004/05/paramilitares-baruta5.jpg http://www.venezuelanalysis.com.nyud.net:8090/images/2004/05/paramilitares-barracas.jpg
http://www.unobserver.com.nyud.net:8090/articleimages/Venezuela%20Colombian%20paramilitaries_02.jpg ~snip~
President Hugo Chavez Frias: Today's capture of Colombian paramilitaries is a blow against opposition terrorism May 9, 2004 VENPRES’ Carmen Ostia Pulgar reports: “The capture of 56 Colombian paramilitaries in Sabaneta, Baruta (Miranda) is a very important blow against terrorism, coups, and violence in the entire world,” said President Hugo Chavez Frias during his weekly TV program, “Alo Presidente.” Just a few hours after this group of presumed imported Colombian terrorists was apprehended, the Head of State questioned the silence of the private media, and their twisting of the facts with respect to information released about these events. According to Chavez, this is a part of the “blind elite’s” strategy to implement their plans. He warned that despite the attempts of the opposition to inundate Venezuela with violence, they will not succeed. The President’s message was transmitted in a simultaneous broadcast on all radio and TV channels because none of the private channels (with the exception of Globovision, which retransmitted VTV’s signal at certain moments) transmitted what happened this morning. For the last three months, the intelligence agencies conducted an investigation which, this morning between 2:30 and 3:00 a.m., resulted in the capture of an important Colombian paramilitary leader. The operation continued, and “before the sun rose, our patriotic men and women had captured 53 paramilitaries (now 56), all Colombians, dressed in Venezuelan military uniforms, with military haircuts, white and tricolor armbands (Venezuelan colors),” detailed President Chavez. “The captured foreign terrorist agents were found in a building belonging to Cuban Robert Alonso, known anti-Castro activist. We’re talking about the Cuban counterrevolution passing through North (as in Miami), South, and Central America.” Alonso was nicknamed “The Corporal” and was one of the brains behind “Plan Guarimba,” a violent far-right opposition strategy that was executed in communities and arterial highways in East Caracas from February 27 (when the G-15 Summit convened in the capital city) until March 3. “(Alonso) is closely associated with the so-called Democratic Coordinator (CD), and he was recently on the Globovision program, Grade 33,” Chavez added. According to security agency estimates, 130 Colombian paramilitaries entered Venezuela clandestinely. The President said that he gave the order to capture them by any means necessary in the shortest possible time. Chavez recognized the work done by the State Security & Political (DISIP) police, led by Corporal Miguel Rodriguez Torres; the Ministry of Interior & Justice (MIJ) headed by Lucas Rincon Romero; the National Guard; the Military Intelligence Directorate (DIM); the Ministry of Defense; and the Scientific, Penal & Criminal Investigations Corps (CICPC). http://www.unobserver.com/printen.php?id=1657 |
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