Between Oct. 7 and Oct. 9, high-ranking U.S. officials met in Prague, Czech Republic, with parts of the Venezuelan opposition, according to reports from Tribuna Popular and Prensa Latina. In the meeting, the opposition was urged to convene social uprisings, sabotage the economy and infrastructure, destroy the food transportation chain and plan a military coup.
The U.S officials supposedly in attendance included Paul Wolfowitz, former president of the World Bank and deputy
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These and other prominent U.S officials and close allies were in Prague for the yearly gathering of the Forum 2000 “Freedom and Responsibility” Conference. Humberto Celli spoke during a section of the conference sections entitled “Freedom and Responsibility in Politics: Challenges for Democracy in Latin America.”
According to the Forum 2000 website, Celli said, “during its democratic days, Venezuela always took the side of democratic movements … it is now time for the world to return this favor in our time of need.”
The U.S. government has a long history of attempting to overthrow the revolutionary Venezuelan government since Hugo Chávez Frias was elected president in 1998.
Washington has funded and overseen various counterrevolutionary operations, including a failed coup in 2000, the April 2002 coup defeated by the people, countless acts of oil and economic sabotage from 2001 to 2003, and the 2004 right-wing abstention from elections. All these attempts to halt the forward progress of the revolution have failed.
In recent weeks, right-wing opposition forces in Venezuela have openly made similar calls for intervention and social disruptions. Hermann Escarra from the pro-coup organization Comando Nacional de la Resistencia openly has called for a “rebellion” following the proposal of constitutional reforms on Aug. 15.
Tibisay Lucena, chairman of The National Electoral Council said the corporate media was deliberately misinforming the population, and stoking a mood of violence amongst right-wing students.
Diaria VEA, a news agency in Venezuela, reported that anonymous students planned on committing acts of destabilization in the lead-up to the referendum in December. On Oct. 25, thousands of right-wing university students violently demonstrated against the reforms.
Mundial recorded video of the reactionary youth dumping gasoline into an armored vehicle and ramming metal barricades into police officers standing on top of armored vehicles, knocking them from the roofs and hoods of the vehicles onto the ground. The students attempted to march on the National Assembly, but the metropolitan police and pro-Chávez students formed a thick buffer to defend it.
The Electoral Council accepted a delegation of opposition students inside, but the students immediately attempted to chain themselves to the building. Outside, others continued to attack the metropolitan police.
In reaction to the right-wing demonstrations, the Bolivarian Student Federation held a press conference requesting that authorities investigate the actions the opposition is rumored to be planning, including forced food shortages, transport stoppage and acts of violence.
Carlos Sierra, president of the Student Federation, called the performance of the right-wing opposition evidence of “a plan of destabilization intended to generate a new coup d’état against the president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez Frias. … And yesterday’s action is only the beginning.” According to Sierra, the opposition plans to prevent the democratic referendum from taking place.
Hermann Escarra from the National Resistance Command has called for the constitutional changes to be stopped, “through all means possible.”
This language is a stark reminder of the failed April 2002 military coup.
During the three-day coup, opposition leaders negated the constitution and shut down the popularly elected national assembly. The coup planners had a plan not only to assume power, but also to reverse all the gains of the revolution and return Venezuela to a neo-colony of the United States. The experience of the coup raised the consciousness of both Chávez and the Venezuelan masses, who have since pushed the revolution forward even further.
Constitutional reforms were proposed in mid-August. Since the proposal, Venezuela has held nationwide debates over the various articles. On Nov. 2, the National Assembly approved the reforms. The popular referendum is scheduled for Dec. 2.
The reforms are an important aspect of the continuing development of the Venezuelan revolution.
The Venezuelan and U.S. ruling classes are becoming more desperate in their attempts to subvert the revolution and dominate the country’s people and resources. It is in the interest of the working class here to maintain its solidarity with the people of Venezuela as they defend their revolutionary process against violent counterrevolutionary forces and their allies in Washington.
