The following is text to a talk given by Carlos Alvarez at an ANSWER LA meeting Tuesday night. Whether it’s North Korea, Iran, Venezuela, the White House continues their belligerent talk and implied threats of military action. That’s why it’s important to get in the streets on Mar 18 for the Global Day of Protest. All the causes are linked.
“This past Thursday the U.S director of national intelligence John Negroponte proclaimed that Venezuela was a threat to U.S. interest because it was seeking closer ties with North Korea and Iran. That same Thursday Venezuelan president, Hugo Rafael Chavez Frias ordered the expulsion of Navy Cmdr. John Correa, a U.S. naval attach in Caracas on spying charges.
Venezuela media reports say that issue pertains to a CD with technical descriptions of military planes that the country is seeking to buy from Spain. The allegation is that a retired Venezuelan Capt. Jos Ignacio Plaza, now living in Orlando sent this CD to someone within Caracas who is now under arrest. Six other Venezuelan naval officers have been accused of spying for the U.S. and investigation of other officers has been continuous. The spy charges against Correa were that he sent secret information from Venezuelan military officers to the Pentagon.
That same Thursday, US defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld responded to a question about a deteriorating relationship between the two countries by stating the following. “You’ve got Chavez in Venezuela with a lot of oil money. He’s a person who was elected legally just as Adolf Hitler was elected legally. And then he has consolidated power. And now, of course is working closely with Fidel Castro and Mr. Morales and others.” Rumsfeld is first referring to the oil money that has obliterated illiteracy in areas throughout Venezuela and the same oil money that has allowed there to be a system of clinics that provides free health care to so many Venezuelan’s once living under poverty. These are just a few of the products of that “oil money” Rumsfeld is talking about. Rumsfeld was also referring to Venezuela, Cuba and Bolivia but “the others” comment refers to North Korea and Iran, countries that are also currently in the process of defending themselves against harsh vilifying by the U.S. ”
“The day after Rumsfeld made these comments the U.S. expelled Jeny Figueredo Frias, a chief of staff to the Venezuelan ambassador. US state Department spokesman, Sean McCormack said that this was a direct response to the expulsion of John Correa.
The US continues its long string on denials with more of the same, in the same way they deny any involvement with the failed coup of 2002, which also had to do with left over informant branches of the military officers, they deny that Correa was serving any sort of spy role.
The US has already interfered in attempts by Venezuela to obtain any sort of military defense. Just last month the bush administration blocked the trade of 12 military patrol and transport aircrafts to Venezuela from Spain.
It is important now to consider for a second what is happening in Iraq, the war on Iraq as we all now is to secure the resources of the people of iraq for the corporations of the U.S. It is for one more reason not disconnected to this however; it is to maintain the US as a dominant superpower or capitalist monopoly.
Threats against Venezuela, Cuba, and Bolivia are for meant to protect the US ruling elite from the revolutionary ideas that are being promoted in these countries. Threats against these countries and against others like Iran and North Korea serve still the purpose of keeping the power that capitalist monopoly. The highest stage of that Monopoly is Imperialism, and this strangles countries in a variety of ways from threats, to sanctions to war as is now being raged against the people of Iraq.
This is why it is so important that the ANSWER Coalition bring all the demands that we are bring on March 18th every time we go on the streets. We can allow for these threats to become wars as they inevitably do without the people taking control into their own hands.
Venezuela’s ideas are contagious, the fight for justice and peace has taken Venezuela by storm, and the election of Evo Morales is a product of the Bolivian peoples struggle. Here in the US we too must build such a struggle that can end this process of systemic wars and can bring about true democracy of people and nations, where no working person is ignored because of their race or financial status as was the case after hurricane Katrina and where no nation’s right to protect itself is held above the financial priorities of any imperialist power. March 18th let’s demand a stop to the war, an end to colonial occupation from Iraq to Palestine to Haiti, and end to threats against Venezuela, Cuba, North Korea and Iran among other demands to truly build an independent people’s movement.”
[tags] Venezuela [/tags]