Freedom Rider: Solidarity with Venezuela

Jorge Arreaza, Venezuelan Foreign Minister

Margaret Kimberley, BAR editor and senior columnist

When the US targets a government for regime change it brings all its coercive forces into play: military threats, economic sanctions, media slander and treasonous Quislings from the theater of the absurd.

“The United States and its puppets care nothing for international law, the sovereignty of other nations, or human rights.”

The United States war against Venezuela is fought on many fronts. On April 30, 2019 the U.S. upped the propaganda ante with a photo-op pretend coup attempt made for the cameras. Their hand picked opposition leader Juan Guaido posed with about 70 men in uniform and called on the army to oust president Nicolas Maduro. They didn’t engage the Venezuelan military, attack Maduro physically or do anything else that is traditionally done in such an effort. The goal is to give Guaido credibility in the international media and with politicians in Washington. The staged event is still dangerous though. It is the latest salvo in a years long effort to undo the will of the Venezuelan people.

The troika of tyranny, Donald Trump, Mike Pompeo and John Bolton, may have been stymied in their effort to bring down the elected Nicolas Maduro government, but they have not given up. All of their machinations are conducted with the goal of creating as much stress on the Venezuelan state, its economy and on the Venezuelan people as they can muster. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza  spoke at a public forum in New York City on April 25, 2019 and explained how his country is suffering due to the United States war waged by means other than military attack.

“The staged event is the latest salvo in a years long effort to undo the will of the Venezuelan people.”

Arreaza tells a story that one will never see in the corporate media or hear about from the Democratic Party, the supposed opposition. Despite what we’re told about a dictatorial government, Maduro was willing to compromise the Bolivarian revolution in order to keep Washington at bay. When the elected government and opposition met under the auspices of the Dominican Republic, the Trump administration made sure that no agreement would come to pass. The Maduro government acceded to demands such as changes to election dates. When they agreed to jointly request that sanctions be lifted, then Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made his move. He ordered the opposition to withdraw from the talks and they did so.

The United States has also used diplomatic warfare and threats against other nations to force them to join in the coup effort. Those countries live in fear of IMF loans or diplomatic credentials being denied. They fear the United States and they fear talking publicly about how they are threatened. As Arreaza said, “They are brave in the corridors of the United Nations. But they cannot be brave on camera.”

“Only 200 out of 200,000 military personnel have betrayed their country.” 

The United States effort is both global and personal. The CIA has approached military officers and used enticements and threats to secure their defections. Despite these effortsonly 200 out of 200,000 personnel have betrayed their country. 

Arreaza described the human toll of the sanctions which have deprived Venezuela of the use of billions of dollars of its own money. Venezuelans were sent to Italy for bone marrow transplants paid for by the government but the service is now endangered because these financial transactions are prohibited under sanctions.  Sanctions have already killed 40,000  Venezuelans who were deprived of medicines, proper medical treatment and food.

The military option is still very much on the table. The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a U.S. government backed think tank, hosted a meeting in Washington with Venezuelan opposition, and Brazilian and Colombian military figures to discuss military intervention  using the cover of other nations. This is how it is done in the post-Iraq world. Proxies would again be the foot soldiers for the U.S. hegemon.  

The think tank hosted a meeting to discuss military intervention using the cover of other nations.”

Venezuela is not alone. The U.S. coup plotters have targeted Brazil, Ecuador and Argentina. Nations are bribed with money or the right wing get support at a crucial moment. The CSIS and the U.S. government look to Nicaragua and Cuba as their next targets.

That is why solidarity is so important. A group calling itself the Embassy Protection Col-   lective  has spent the last two weeks housed in the Venezuelan embassy in Washington. Their goal is to prevent Guaido and the opposition from taking it over in violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

But the United States and its puppets care nothing for international law, the sovereignty of other nations, or human rights.They evoke the discredited Monroe Doctrine and run roughshod over anyone who speaks against them.

The day after his speech in New York, Jorge Arreaza was himself sanctioned by the United States government. His finances and ability to travel and thus do his job as a foreign minister are now at risk. The April 29 “coup attempt” was made for the cameras, but the goal is quite serious. The United States wants to control as much of the world as it possibly can and prevent any group of people from acting independently. That is why people of conscience must support the people of Venezuela and the government they have elected. 

Margaret Kimberley’s Freedom Rider column appears weekly in Black Agenda Report, and is widely reprinted elsewhere. She maintains a frequently updated blog as well at http://freedomrider.blogspot.com . Ms. Kimberley lives in New York City, and can be reached via e-Mail at Margaret.Kimberley@BlackAgendaReport.com.