The Americans just don't get it ...or learn. Having assumed to themselves the role of world policeman and some sort of right to effect change in other countries, there is no end to what the US will do to bring about destabilising another country's government. The latest venture is in Venezuela. Read - this piece from CounterPunch - with more than a degree of amazement, the plan, blueprint and methodology for change in this South American country.
"Both the ongoing protests in Venezuela and the economic problems that the demonstrators are protesting against appear to have been orchestrated by the opposition in order to destabilize the country and bring down the government. Unable to gain power through the ballot box, the Venezuelan opposition has turned to unconstitutional means to oust President Nicolas Maduro. With only limited support among Venezuelans, the opposition has been dependent on outside aid from the United States and Colombia, Washington’s closest ally in Latin America. The current protests appear to represent the latest tactic in a destabilization campaign that Washington has been waging against Venezuela for more than a decade, initially to overthrow former president Hugo Chávez, and now to oust his successor Maduro.
For the past month, demonstrators in several Venezuelan cities have been protesting against electricity blackouts and shortages of basic food products. More than a dozen people have died during the unrest. While the protests are being portrayed in the mainstream media as spontaneous outbursts resulting from growing frustration at government mismanagement of the economy, a strategy document that recently came to light suggests the unrest is the latest tactic in a long-running destabilization effort orchestrated by the opposition and outside forces.
The strategy document, which was obtained and published by lawyer Eva Gollinger, illustrates how the current unrest in Venezuela has been orchestrated by the country’s opposition and foreign actors. The document was drawn up by US-based FTI Consulting and two Colombian organizations (The Centre for Thought Foundation of Colombia First and The Democratic Internationalism Foundation) in a June 2013 meeting. Mark Feierstein, head of the Latin American operations of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and leaders of the Venezuelan opposition including Maria Corina Machado, Julio Borges and Ramon Guillermo Avelado participated in the meeting.
The document goes on to specify violent actions of destabilization, suggesting, “Whenever possible, the violence should cause deaths and injuries. Encourage hunger strikes of numerous days, massive mobilizations, problems in the universities and other sectors of society now identified with government institutions.” The plan also calls for the recruitment of “Venezuelan and international journalists and reporters such as: CNN, The New York Times, The New York Post, Reuters, AP, EFE, The Miami Herald, Time, BBC, El Pais, Clarin, ABC among others.”
Ultimately, the plan calls on members of the opposition to “Create situations of crisis in the streets that facilitate the intervention of North America and the forces of NATO, with support of the government of Colombia.” The strategy document proposed a six-month timeline for carrying out the proposed actions. Interestingly, the current protests began seven months after the plan was drawn up.
Venezuela’s President Maduro, like his predecessor Chávez, has repeatedly claimed that economic elites in the opposition who control private sector food production have deliberately created shortages in basics by cutting back production, stockpiling inventory and exporting goods to neighboring Colombia to create the impression that the government is mismanaging the economy in order to generate civil unrest. The strategy plan clearly suggests that the opposition has indeed played a role in creating food shortages and electricity blackouts, both of which it has publicly blamed on government mismanagement."
"Both the ongoing protests in Venezuela and the economic problems that the demonstrators are protesting against appear to have been orchestrated by the opposition in order to destabilize the country and bring down the government. Unable to gain power through the ballot box, the Venezuelan opposition has turned to unconstitutional means to oust President Nicolas Maduro. With only limited support among Venezuelans, the opposition has been dependent on outside aid from the United States and Colombia, Washington’s closest ally in Latin America. The current protests appear to represent the latest tactic in a destabilization campaign that Washington has been waging against Venezuela for more than a decade, initially to overthrow former president Hugo Chávez, and now to oust his successor Maduro.
For the past month, demonstrators in several Venezuelan cities have been protesting against electricity blackouts and shortages of basic food products. More than a dozen people have died during the unrest. While the protests are being portrayed in the mainstream media as spontaneous outbursts resulting from growing frustration at government mismanagement of the economy, a strategy document that recently came to light suggests the unrest is the latest tactic in a long-running destabilization effort orchestrated by the opposition and outside forces.
The strategy document, which was obtained and published by lawyer Eva Gollinger, illustrates how the current unrest in Venezuela has been orchestrated by the country’s opposition and foreign actors. The document was drawn up by US-based FTI Consulting and two Colombian organizations (The Centre for Thought Foundation of Colombia First and The Democratic Internationalism Foundation) in a June 2013 meeting. Mark Feierstein, head of the Latin American operations of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and leaders of the Venezuelan opposition including Maria Corina Machado, Julio Borges and Ramon Guillermo Avelado participated in the meeting.
The document goes on to specify violent actions of destabilization, suggesting, “Whenever possible, the violence should cause deaths and injuries. Encourage hunger strikes of numerous days, massive mobilizations, problems in the universities and other sectors of society now identified with government institutions.” The plan also calls for the recruitment of “Venezuelan and international journalists and reporters such as: CNN, The New York Times, The New York Post, Reuters, AP, EFE, The Miami Herald, Time, BBC, El Pais, Clarin, ABC among others.”
Ultimately, the plan calls on members of the opposition to “Create situations of crisis in the streets that facilitate the intervention of North America and the forces of NATO, with support of the government of Colombia.” The strategy document proposed a six-month timeline for carrying out the proposed actions. Interestingly, the current protests began seven months after the plan was drawn up.
Venezuela’s President Maduro, like his predecessor Chávez, has repeatedly claimed that economic elites in the opposition who control private sector food production have deliberately created shortages in basics by cutting back production, stockpiling inventory and exporting goods to neighboring Colombia to create the impression that the government is mismanaging the economy in order to generate civil unrest. The strategy plan clearly suggests that the opposition has indeed played a role in creating food shortages and electricity blackouts, both of which it has publicly blamed on government mismanagement."
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