The CIA has been used to initiate numerous coups in South America including Venezuela whose intent has over time been shown to be to advance the interests of the United States by overthrowing leaders that do not tow its line and replacing them with less reactionary leaders that it can easily manipulate.
The involvement of the United States of America in South America has by all means been open, especially following the Cold War. These relations range from diplomatic, trade, security to political engagements as evidenced by the Organization of American States (OAS). However, deeply tacked in the historical relations between the U.S and South America are the dozens of U.S backed coups in the region. Most of the coups have tacitly been supported by the by the successive U.S administrations through the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The motives of the successive U.S administrations' efforts in bringing down governments in the region are clear: to impose leaders that can tow the U.S line without any opposition. From Brazil to Nicaragua, most of the CIA-backed coups have been successful. However, there has been a handful that did not materialize and have served to bring criticisms against the CIA. One of the CIA-backed coups that did not succeed was the 2002 Venezuela coup attempt.
The coup was an attempt to remove from power the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in 2002. He had been president of the oil-rich nation since 1998. While the clandestine nature of CIA operations makes it difficult to provide a direct link between the organization and the attempted coup, it had all the hallmarks of the spy agency's intervention. Just as had been the case in previous CIA-backed coups in South America, the Venezuelan coup attempt was carried out under the disguise of popular uprisings instigated by a general strike. The general strike had been organized by the Venezuelan National Federation of Trade Unions. The mass disturbances brought about by the general strikes would then form a pretext for the military to intervene to restore law and order and in the process overthrow the sitting government.
Before addressing the coup, it would be important to have a background look at the situation in the country that made it ripe for the CIA to instigate a coup. To be fair the anti-Chavez camp, he had undoubtedly created all the necessary conditions for a coup. Once he was re-elected president in the year 2000, he implemented populist policies which, while endearing him to the poor, a majority of the policies served to alienate Chavez from the political, business and military elite including the church.
After a constitutional referendum in 1999, he was re-elected under a new constitution, which ultimately made him an all-powerful president. Through constitutional reforms, he had taken control of most of the independent public institutions in Venezuela including the media. Furthermore, he had combined the country's bicameral parliament into a single national assembly in which a majority of its members were under Chavez's control. Consequently, it empowered him to pass the infamous Enabling Act as an emergency measure to resuscitate Venezuela's ailing economy. The act enabled him to pass laws personally without any input from the members of the legislature or any form of public participation.
He made significant changes concerning the administration of business in Venezuela, land usage, and ownership as well as oil. Oil was particularly a touchy subject in the country given the dominant role it played in the nation's economy. The land reform law enabled the government to take over lands considered idle even though there was no proper compensation structure. In essence, the expropriated land was dished out to loyal proponents of Chavez as appreciation for their support. A majority of the elites that lost their lands joined the opposition.
Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), Venezuela's state oil company, also played a primary role in the events leading up to the coup. The state corporation had hitherto been under the control of people aligned to the opposition. Chavez instituted radical reforms in the corporation in a bid to assert his control. All oil revenues were consequently brought under the control of the government. Foreign involvement in the oil sector was also heavily curtailed. Management changes in the corporation infuriated a majority of the people especially given that PDVSA was the single largest employer in the country at the time. Chavez also redirected the country's oil sector towards OPEC and consequently formed strong alliances with despotic leaders whose countries were members of the organization. They included Saddam Hussein of Iraq, Muammar Gaddafi of Libya and Mohammad Khatami of Iran.
However, perhaps nothing attracted the fury of the U.S towards Chavez as his close relations with the Cuban revolutionary leader, Fidel Castro. The Cuban leader was among the most prominent enemies of the U.S. It was after the revolution he led that subsequently placed him in power followed by his realignment to the Soviet Union during the Cold War. In fact, Fidel Castro had also been the target of several coups and assassination attempts by the CIA especially the infamous Bay of Pigs invasion that ended up as a failure. For that reason, Chavez's close relationship with Fidel Castro was akin to being a sworn enemy of the U.S. Chavez's close relations with the FARC rebels of Colombia also infuriated the U.S. Chavez, and even allowed the rebels to set up camps in Venezuela to act as the forward bases in their attacks against the Colombian government. His actions had also drawn the fury of the country's military brass. As a result, all these factors converged to create the backdrop for a CIA-backed coup.
At the center of the opposition to Chavez was the Venezuelan Federation of Chambers of Commerce (Fedecamaras). On the 10th of December 2001, members of the Fedecamaras closed their operations in an attempt to force President Chavez to repeal his populist economic policies. Fedecamaras counted on the influential leadership of the CTV trade union federation, Venezuela's largest umbrella of trade unions at the time. The CTV trade union had for a long time been aligned to the Democratic Action Party, which was the lead political opponent of Venezuela's ruling party. It was supported by a majority of the elite that had been alienated by Chavez's economic, political and social policies. The strike had been described as one of the largest in the country's history.
It laid the foundation for the April strikes that would oust Chavez albeit for only a short period. The coup began in earnest on the 5th of April 2002 when the giant PDVSA employees, who opposed Chavez's sacking of the corporation's senior management, downed their tools and shut the company. On the 6th of April, the CTV trade union announced plans for a strike in support of the PDVSA workers. The one-day general strike was scheduled to take place on the 9th of April. On the day of the strike, the Fedecamaras joined in the strike and calls to extend the strike beyond the twenty-four hours were successful. The media also played a role in fanning the coup. There were live broadcasts of strikes even though the government had banned such live proceedings.
On the 19th of April, the Chavez made it clear that they would resort to force if the protests continued. The protests nevertheless continued on the 11th of April. Some of Venezuela's top military officials openly denounced Chavez's involvement with Castro and FARC rebels. At the instigation of the protest leaders, the protestors marched from the PDVSA headquarters to Miraflores, the presidential palace. The protests persisted due to Chavez heading the advice of those close to him that the use of force would have undesirable consequences. Furthermore, he had only the limited support from the security services; only the National Guard and some loyalist military units supported Chavez. The police were anti-Chavez. The protests at the Miraflores were motivated by the fact that the protest leaders had the tacit support of some military leaders.
The National Guard allowed Pro-Chavez supporters to move close to the Miraflores armed. A confrontation between the two camps ensued, and there were some reported deaths as a result. This was especially the case given that the security services were divided. The confrontation was clearest indication that the protests were a coup in disguise. Consequently, Chavez called upon his top military general to implement a clandestine military plan christened the Plan Avilla. However, due to the extreme consequences and unconstitutionality of the plan, the general bolted and in his place came Jorge Garcia Carneiro. However, his attempt to implement the Plan Avilla was blocked by anti-Chavez soldiers who barricaded traffic around the Caracas.
The opposition countered by publicly blaming Chavez for the violence at the Miraflores. The head of the army, General Vasquez aware that the Plan Avilla would have disastrous consequences, knew that he would be blamed for the ensuing bloodshed. This was despite Carneiro, his junior in rank, being the one implementing the plan. In fact, Carneiro had already sent armored tanks to Miraflores to offer support to the National Guard. In a bid to forestall the bloodshed, Vasquez ordered all military movements including those led by Carneiro to be frozen.
As the standoff continued, an increasing number of the elite openly voiced their support for the anti-Chavez protests. Eventually, Chavez was arrested after conditions for his resignation were denied by the coup plotters. He was held at the Fort Tiuna military base. Military prosecutors interrogating him on the violence learned that he had not resigned as had been claimed by the anti-Chavez camp in the media. They managed to send the document of his statement to the attorney general, a Chavez loyalist. Consequently, the Attorney General managed to announce to the nation that Chavez had not officially resigned as had been claimed. Chavez was transferred to another military base off the coast of Venezuela.
It was followed by the installation of Pedro Carmona as the interim president. He instituted a broad range of reforms for the few hours he was in power in a bid to negate the policies of Chavez. Key among the reforms was the changing of the country's name and abolishing the new constitution that had given Chavez sweeping powers. He also dissolved the National Assembly and the Supreme Court. It is this purge on pro-Chavez officials that led to the clamor for the return of Chavez. In making the new appointments, he largely ignored the counsel of the military, business and political officials that were instrumental in installing him to power. Spreading the news that Chavez had not officially resigned also fuelled anger against the new administration.
Thousands of Venezuelans from its poor neighborhoods aided by the National Guard retook the Miraflores presidential palace. Before Chavez arrived from his detention, the presidency was held by the vice president. Ultimately, the attempted coup had been a catastrophic failure. It ended as soon as it began. It was yet another failed CIA-backed coup in South America.
Following the coup, there has been a growing body of evidence that the U.S government through the CIA was involved in the attempted coup or at the very least was aware of the coup attempts. The U.S Department of State has acknowledged that U.S military officials had visited the headquarters of the coup leaders. In 2004, leaked intelligence documents showed that top U.S government officials were aware of an upcoming coup. Before the attempted coup, the U.S Embassy in Caracas informed Washington on the progress of the plot in March, a month before the attempted coup.
On the same month, the CIA gave a brief to U.S officials on the planning of the coup. The U.S State Department in its defense, argues that it gave the Venezuelan government a tip off on the coup. It is evidence of a pre-meditated plan to overthrow Chavez's government contrary to the narrative of the U.S government previously. It is important to note that in many of CIA-backed coups, the state department acts as its mouthpiece. The CIA also funneled funds into supporting the anti-Chavez organization through phony NGOs.
The ethics of U.S backed coups have been brought into question after the failed Venezuelan coup. Often, failed coups have resulted in the targeted leaders consolidating their power. It was certainly the case with Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro in Cuba. Consolidation of power almost certainly produced authoritarian regimes that served to suppress their citizens politically, socially and economically which defeats the U.S ideology of granting people their freedoms. As is the case with Venezuela such coups always lead to a breakdown in constitutionalism.
In light of all these, it is clear that the CIA instigates coups, not for utilitarian purposes but rather to advance U.S interests which may not always be for the benefit of the people in the countries that these coups take place. In the case of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez's increasingly anti-American sentiment created the perfect backdrop for the U.S government through the CIA to initiate a regime change. It serves as an illustration of the inherent belief among the successive American regimes that the U.S bears the responsibility to police the world.
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