Venezuela eyes U.S. military on Curacao

[Say_What]

<clips>

Venezuela eyes U.S. military on Curacao

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Venezuela's navy is taking a close look at the American military presence on the nearby island of Curacao to determine the intention of U.S. operations there, Venezuela's navy commander said Monday.

Navy Cmdr. Armando Laguna said the Venezuelan navy was "taking precautions" as it observes the presence of U.S. Marines, along with military planes and amphibious vehicles on the Caribbean island. He did not provide details regarding what measures the navy was taking.

Laguna told the state-run television channel the navy "detected a series of (military) units" on the island, located roughly 46 miles (75 kilometers) northeast of Venezuela's Paraguana Peninsula.

"We took precautions to determine what the intention is," said Laguna, adding that the U.S. Navy often carries out exercises in southern Caribbean but failed to notify Venezuela's military on this occasion.

There was no immediate comment from the U.S. Embassy in Caracas.

http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/americas/02/28/venezuela.us.curacao.ap/

[Chicago Democrat]

1. Great....... not

:(

[bemildred]

2. Do let us know what the embassy in Caracas has to say about this. nt

[MadisonProgressive]

3. It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood.

You are getting veerrrrryyy sleeeeeeppyy....

[Blue to the bone]

4. Perhaps they're just vacationing in Curacao?

.....yeah, right.

[pinerow]

5. Sorta like when they trained the Anti-Aristide goons just over the

border in Santo Domingo...I wonder if that's what they mean by "transparency" in government.

[Divernan]

6. This island's main source of income is tourism-email them a comment

Curacao is the largest of the five Netherland Antilles islands - and their economies rely extremely heavily on tourism. Many Europeans vacation there. I have been to two of these islands, but believe me - I won't return if they are hosting military activities.
I think many toursits would respond similarly - you're on vacation to relax, not look from the beach of your resort, or the deck of a cruise ship and see military activity. Given the level of tension in today's world, how would you know if it was an "exercise" or a "preemptive strike"? I'd be booking the next flight home.
If you google Curacao, you will come up with some websites hosted either by the island's govt., chamber of commerce or hotel operators. I plan to email them commenting on this news story.

[Ian David]

7. OK, I'll admit I hadn't been paying attention to Venezuela yet

But this pricked my ears up.

Would anyone mind please spoon-feeding me a postcard-sized summary of just how bad this is?

Thanks!

[LdyGuique]

9. I've been watching the Venezuela situation for awhile

In a nutshell, Hugo Chavez is one of the "brownskinned" people and has a huge mandate from his people. He's attempting to reform much of Venezuela's slide into poverty. And, he ain't buying any of the US crap.

1) The CIA was behind a coup 2 years ago -- Chavez regained his seat with a 69% vote.

2) Venezuela is a member of OPEC and has huge oil reserves, but it is the thickest form of crude oil and requires special processing -- Venezula owns CITGO, which has built special refineries in the US. He plans on selling them within 3 years (although, since they can only handle Venezuelan crude, it's debatable who will buy)

3) Venezuela has cut a deal with China to sell their oil to China and is using Iran as an intermediary for negotiations and technical expertise.

4) Venezuela has cut a deal with Columbia to run a pipeline across Columbia to a Pacific port as the US has refused to allow China Panama Canal access (yeah, I know, we no longer control the Canal--hahaha).

5) Corruption ran rife in the oil company and Chavez has nationalized it in order to get it back into production.

6) Chavez considers himself a socialist and is on friendly terms with Castro -- both showed up to the inauguration of Uruguay's new President, who is also a socialist this past month

The Buth Admin has been beating the drums of warning against Venezuela for quite some time and gushing anti-Chavez propaganda.

Venezuela is a complex story but that's a quickie

[Ian David]

12. Wow. So really, our only problem with them has to do with oil?

They're cutting us out of the loop!

And they're doing the same thing Dick Cheney did-- do business with Iran.

Shame on them!

All we need is to start a war with people who can walk across our border and into Texas.

Thanks for cluing me in.

[Say_What]

14. It ain't that simple. Oil is only part of the equation and Venezuelans

can't walk across the border into Texas--Venezuela is a few thousand miles south.

On edit: If you want to find out about Venezuela, start with the coup and work forward. The archives has tons of stuff on Venezuela and Chavez--the coup was covered on DU in depth.

[Ian David]

15. I didn't mean they could literally just walk right to Texas

I meant that they wouldn't need to take a plane or a boat.

All they need are trains, cars, trucks or busses.

Granted, America is no longer protected by the great oceans, but it carries even greater risk to attack someone who doesn't even need to cross an ocean.

Also, how much solidarity would the rest of South and Central America feel with Venezuela?

Would there be sympathizers in Mexico, Honduras, etc. that rise up with them against us?

[Say_What]

19. Shift to the left in Uruguay sets off alarm bell in the US

This article will answer some of your question.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1272562

[oasis]

26. Excellent post LdyGuique.

:hi:

[struggle4progress]

28. Curacao is a Dutch colony: maybe we should be asking ...

... the low-country people why the f*** they would want to cooperate with W, whose doing his best to submerge their country by melting the polar ice caps.

[Igel]

8. They should have phoned the embassy, or consulate (whatever)

on Curacao.

[Say_What]

10. Nobel Laureate Warns of US Interventionism in Venezuela

<clips>

Nobel Laureate Warns of US Interventionism in Venezuela

Caracas, February 28, 2005— In an interview with Colombian radio last weekend, Nobel Laureate Adolfo Pérez Esquivel warned that the United States is seeking to overthrow Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.

Speaking to Bogotá’s Caracol radio, the Argentinean human rights activist alleged that the Venezuelan government is a “victim” of Washington and suggested that Chávez’s accusations that the US is trying to assassinate him are “probable.”

In 1980 Pérez Esquivel won the Nobel Peace Prize for his human rights work against the military dictatorship in his home of Argentina.

“The United States is committing grave errors,” said the Nobel Laureate. “First, in attacking Iraq and Afghanistan, and second, in trying to oust President Hugo Chávez, a government that was constitutionally elected by the people,” he added.

http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news.php?newsno=1525

[Judi Lynn]

11. "Adding to the concern, there has been an apparent blanket

on press comment from the US Embassy bunker on Colinas de Valle Arriba in Caracas.
(snip)

http://www.vheadline.com/readnews.asp?id=25966

That's all V-Headline has to add to its look at the CNN story.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
U.S. Southern Command

Military personnel also are deployed in Peru at three U.S.-built radar stations, in addition to hundreds of troops helping to refurbish an air base in Manta, Ecuador, and to construct several military bases in Bolivia. The United States also runs military surveillance flights from the Caribbean islands of Aruba and Curacao. No information is available about the number of CIA and other intelligence personnel operating in the region.
(snip/...)http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/southcom.htm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
US Military Bases in Latin America and the Caribbean

In addition, the Pentagon is investing in expanded infrastructure in the region, with four military bases in Manta, Ecuador; Aruba; Curacao; and Comalapa, El Salvador, known as “cooperative security locations,” or CSLs. These CSLs are leased facilities established to conduct counternarcotics monitoring and interdiction operations. Washington has signed ten-year agreements with Ecuador, the Netherlands (for Aruba and Curacao), and El Salvador and has funded the renovation of air facilities in Ecuador, Aruba, and Curacao. SouthCom also operates some 17 radar sites, mostly in Peru and Colombia, each typically staffed by about 35 personnel.
(snip)

http://www.globalpolicy.org/empire/intervention/2004/08lamericabases.htm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
U.S. MILITARY, INTEL ASSISTED IN VENEZUELAN COUP

By Wayne Madsen

Washington, DC - Apr. 12, 2002 -- Pentagon sources revealed the United States
provided critical military and intelligence support to the Venezuelan
military coup against President Hugo Chavez.

Using the cover of two training exercises in the Caribbean -- COMPTUEX and a
Joint Task Force Exercise (JTFEX) -- the U.S. Navy provided signals
intelligence and communications jamming support to the Venezuelan military.
Particular focus by U.S. Navy ship-basedintercept units was on communications
to and from the Cuban, Libyan, Iranian, and Iraqi diplomatic missions in
Caracas. All four countries supported Chavez. The plans for U.S. military and
intelligence support for the coup sped up shortly after President Bush's
March visit to Peru and El Salvador.

The National Security Agency (NSA) supported the coup using personnel
attached to the U.S. Southern Command's Joint Interagency Task Force East
(JIATF-E), in Key West, Florida. NSA's Spanish-language linguists and signals
intercept operators in Key West; Sabana Seca, Puerto Rico; and the Regional
Security Operating Center (RSOC) in Medina, Texas also assisted in providing
communications intelligence to U.S. military and national command authorities
on the progress of the coup d'etat.
(snip)

U.S. Navy ships on the training exercise in the Outer Range of the U.S.
Navy's Southern Puerto Rican Operating Area also stood by in the event the
coup against Chavez faltered, thus requiring a U.S. military evacuation of
U.S. citizens. The ships included the aircraft carrier USS George Washington,
and destroyers USS Barry, Laboon, Mahan, and Arthur W. Radford. Some of the
destroyers reportedly had NSA Direct Support Units aboard to provide signals
intelligence support to U.S. Special Operations and intelligence personnel
deployed on the ground in Venezuela and along the Colombian side of the
border.
(snip/...)

http://newsmine.org/archive/war-on-terror/venezuela/apr-2002-coup/venezuela-us-military.txt

[applegrove]

13. Man - wouldn't that be great if any time I didn't like my investments

Man - wouldn't be hard to be rich at then - not hard at all.

I think these South American countries going democratic & having all sorts of freedom really is a threat to the "elites gone wild" in the USA. I mean - how dare they? They must have been listening to one of Bush's speeches or something. Didn't they know? Those speeches are only for the freepers at home. You were not supposed to take "freedom" & "liberty" serious? I mean - get real! You are sitting on oil.

[Blue to the bone]

16. The average Venezuelan doesn't believe.......

....that the US is planning any sort of attack on their country.

[Say_What]

17. Tell that to the thousands of disappeared/dead at the hands of US-dictator

Decades of US-supported military dictators proves otherwise and all of LatAm knows it.

---

<clips>

America's Allies
THE FRIENDLY DICTATORS
Meet the Friendly Dictators - three dozen* of America's most embarrassing "friends", a cunning crew of tyrants and corrupt puppet-presidents who have been rewarded handsomely for their loyalty to U.S. interests.

Traditional Dictators seize control through force and often are self-styled "Generals." Constitutional Dictators hold office through voting fraud or severely restricted elections and are frequently mouthpieces for the military juntas which control the ballot boxes. Both types of dictators are covered here, along with a few tyrannical kings. but don't look for "enemy dictators" (communists and the like) in this set of cards. These are America's allies, strange and undemocratic as they may be.

Friendly Dictators often rise to power through bloody CIA-backed coups and rule by terror and torture. Their troops may receive training or advice from the CIA and other U.S. agencies. "Anti-communism" is their common battle cry and a common excuse for political repression. They are linked internationally through extreme right-wing groups such as the World Anti-Communist League (see card 17). Strong Nazi affiliations are typical - some have been known to dress in Nazi paraphemalia and quote from Mein Kampf, while others offer sanctuary for actual Nazi war criminals.

Friendly Dictators usually grow rich, while their countries' economies go down the drain. U.S. tax dollars and U.S. backed loans have made billionaires of some; others are international drug dealers who also collect CIA paychecks. Rarely are they called to account for their crimes.

http://home.iprimus.com.au/korob/fdtcards/CentralAmerica.html
http://home.iprimus.com.au/korob/fdtcards/SouthAmerica.html

[tlcandie]

18. LoL n/t

[Judi Lynn]

20. Do you mean the average Venezuelans who know Bush and his administration

backed the coup against Hugo Chavez? Almost everyone in the world who reads much or follows the news knows it.

[Sly]

25. The Average Venezuelan

Do not underestimate the Venezuelans, myfriend. They know EXACTLY what's going on...and their loyalty to their country far surpasses any you'll find in the US.

[Vladimir]

27. What is this knowledge based on?

did you poll them, or are you guessing?

[MasonJar]

21. There should be rioting in the streets if the US pulls any more

crap on Venezuela. Their people have spoken twice. Leave Chavez alone. What is it by the way with the Dem Nelson from Florida? Instead of calling Condi to task for her incompetence, he was pushing her to go after Chavez. We do NOT need dems like Nelson.

[Say_What]

22. It's called PANDERING to el exilie aka Miami Gusanos and VenGusanos

standard operating procedure for 99.9% of pols, Dem and Repuke, in the SunShine State.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

23. Isn't Curaçao still a Dutch colony?

Is this something that is part of their NATO obligations?

[Say_What]

24. Article from Foreign Policy in Focus

Plan Colombia my arse...

<clips>

...The Pentagon is also investing in its own new infrastructure in Latin America, with four new military bases in Manta, Ecuador; Aruba; Curaçao; and Comalapa, El Salvador, all known as forward operating locations, or FOLs. Washington signed ten-year agreements with Ecuador, the Netherlands (for Aruba and Curaçao), and El Salvador, and Congress appropriated $116 million in FY2001 for renovation of the air facilities in Ecuador, Aruba, and Curaçao. SouthCom also operates some 17 radar sites, mostly in Peru and Colombia, each typically staffed by about 35 personnel.

The FOLs and radar facilities monitor the skies and waters of the region and are key to increased surveillance operations in Washington’s Andean drug war. As part of the growing U.S. military contribution to Plan Colombia and to President Bush’s Andean Counternarcotics Initiative, they constitute a cordon around Colombia. Beginning in October 2001, AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control Systems) aircraft are operating from the air base in the Ecuadoran port city of Manta. Approved by the short-lived government of President Jamil Nahuad in November 1999, the base in Manta will host up to 475 U.S. personnel.

In addition, there are two older U.S. bases in the region: one in Soto Cano, Honduras, a joint command base that since 1984 has provided support for training and helicopter sorties, and a second in Guantánamo, Cuba, a base that since 1903 has served as an R&R site for sailors and Marines, a refueling base for Coast Guard ships, and, in recent years, a temporary camp for Haitian refugees. There is no termination date for the U.S. lease on the Guantánamo base.

http://www.fpif.org/briefs/vol6/v6n35milbase_body.html

[struggle4progress]

29. "Drug war" is often a euphemism. eom