Relations between Colombia and Venezuela tense after Colombia failed to condemn coup attempt

BOGOTA, Colombia - The United States isn't the only government facing tough questions about its seemingly pleased response when it appeared Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez had been ousted from office last week.

Relations between the two countries, already rocky over allegations that the left-leaning Chavez is supporting Colombian rebels, may be difficult to mend.

The official line in Bogota is that Colombia expressed its condemnation by signing on to Friday's Rio Group statement, in which Latin American presidents deplored the "interruption of constitutional order in Venezuela." The statement was issued while Chavez remained in military custody and a self-proclaimed interim government had taken charge in Caracas.

"Very high ranking officials and some press outlets began to dance before the orchestra arrived," Roy Chaderton, the Venezuelan ambassador in Bogota, told The Associated Press.

Colombia's acting foreign minister, the foreign trade minister and the finance minister all made statements Friday supporting the newly proclaimed government, and particularly its titular head, businessman Pedro Carmona, who is now under house arrest and facing sedition charges.

"We hope to have the best relations with the transition government," acting Foreign Minister Clemencia Forero said. Her statement was put out by the presidency's press office, the only official statement from Colombia on Friday. In interviews, she called Carmona a "good friend" of Colombia.

The Colombian press was also quick to hail the end of the Chavez administration. Colombia's most important newspaper, El Tiempo, ran four pages on Saturday entitled "Venezuela after Chavez." An editorial proclaimed that Chavez was responsible for his own demise, and said, "for Colombia an important opportunity has opened."

A statement by the White House Friday also held Chavez responsible for his fate and did not condemn the interruption of the democratic process. Chavez has irritated Washington with his ties to Fidel Castro, Saddam Hussein, and other U.S. enemies.

President Andres Pastrana said Monday he was confident his government and Chavez's can work together on issues like fighting terrorism and drugs.

Forero, who had enraged the ambassador with her comments, sent a letter to El Tiempo saying that her statement Friday referred only to her admiration for Carmona, who was involved in a bilateral economic commission. Venezuela is Colombia's second most important trading partner after the United States.

Colombian congressman Gustavo Petro, a longtime friend of Chavez, on Tuesday called for debate in the legislature on his government's behavior during the affair.

"These ministers obviously supported the coup," he said. "That is going to make our relations with Venezuela more difficult."

a href=http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/667197/posts?page=3>El Salvador afraid president's support of interim Venezuelan govt will bring Chavez's wrath.*** Prominent members of the right-wing National Conciliation Party said that Venezuela, El Salvador's principal oil supplier, could seek retribution for Flores' seeming support for the coup attempt by disrupting the flow of oil here. "Hopefully, Venezuela will not take reprisals against an entire people because of the mistake of one person," retired army Col. Jose Almendariz said.***

U. S. Secretary Otto Juan Reich, Chavez Successor Spoke on Coup Day *** NEW YORK (Reuters) - A senior Bush administration official contacted Pedro Carmona the day the business leader took over as Venezuela's president after Hugo Chavez was temporarily ousted, The New York Times reported in its online edition Wednesday.

Otto Reich, the assistant U.S. secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, phoned Carmona Friday and pleaded with him not to dissolve the National Assembly, the newspaper reported.

Reich, a Cuban American known for his opposition to Cuban President Fidel Castro told Carmona that such a move would be a "stupid thing to do," and provoke an outcry, the Times reported, citing a State Department official.

Earlier Tuesday, the Bush administration, which appeared to tacitly endorse the Chavez's short-lived ouster, said it met with the Chavez's opposition in recent months but denied encouraging a coup.

Chavez returned to office Sunday. He was deposed by military officers Friday after 17 people were killed during huge protests against his rule.

Despite Reich's prodding, the interim government led by Carmona attempted to fire all members of the Supreme Court and the National Assembly. It called for new congressional elections to be held by December.

President Bush appointed Reich during a congressional recess in January to bypass the legislative body's nomination approval process. Democrats had blocked Reich's nomination because of his staunch anti-Castro views and his role in the Reagan administration's controversial strategy against the Nicaraguan Sandinistas in the 1980s.

Astros' Venezuelans keeping an eye on country's political unrest - Castro likes baseball too*** The political unrest in Venezuela has touched baseball on many fronts, especially the Astros, whose Venezuelan baseball academy is considered the model. The Astros' academy is in Guacara, 2 1/2 hours away from the turmoil in Caracas. Ironically, though, it is on land owned by the chemical company Venoco. Pedro Carmona, the man who served as leader of the interim government after temporarily overthrowing Chavez, is the president of Venoco. Carmona was released from jail Monday.

Chavez surely hasn't forgotten, though, that Carmona dismantled the National Assembly, fired the ministers of the Supreme Court and arrested high-level government officials during the nearly 48 hours Chavez was out of power and under military control. …… "I've said for a long time that this guy might try to be the next Fidel Castro," said Peter Greenberg, who represents Hidalgo, Hernandez, Bobby Abreu, Edgardo Alfonzo, Roger Cedeño and most of the top Venezuelans in the majors. "My players say, `Don't worry. He loves baseball. He won't mess with the baseball players.' Then I remind them that Fidel loves baseball, too."***

Foes determined to oust Chavez***Sixty-eight people were killed and 527 wounded by gunfire and other violence during the political upheaval and widespread looting from Thursday to Sunday, said Guillermo Garróz, head of the National Civil Defense. Cabello said 80 armed forces members were in custody, suspected of involvement in the coup.

Caracas appeared almost normal Tuesday, although a number of looted supermarkets remained closed.

Chávez lost much of his popularity in the past year with his acidic attacks on virtually everyone who opposes him since his election by a landslide in 1998, six years after he launched a failed coup attempt. But in a sign of the continuing political bitterness, the million member Venezuelan Confederation of Workers said it will still push for a referendum on shortening Chávez's presidential term, due to end in 2006.

….. Most opposition lawmakers boycotted the first meeting of the Assembly since the coup attempt and a lawmaker from Chávez's party, the Fifth Republic Movement, Ernesto Alvarenga, announced he had defected to the opposition. …….''This is a government that has been violating the constitution for three years,'' he said, accusing the Chávez-controlled Supreme Court of repeatedly issuing politically-biased rulings. Defense Minister José Vicente Rangel dismissed the calls. 'Those who continue asking for Chávez' exit did not learn the lesson of the counter-coup,'' he said.

''In fact, until now the only one I have hear talking about rectifying is Chávez,'' Rangel added. ……'He said the events were a lesson that God has given us all . . . and said that for the good of the country he was going to straighten out many things,'' Velazco added. ``I believe at that moment he was sincere.''***

"splaining" is right!

***Venezuela has been threatening mineral-rich Essequibo, which is in the west of Guyana, since the 1940s. Venezuela's President, Hugo Chavez, has voiced his country's objection to the Beal Aerospace Technologies spaceport development plans, though he has declared that Venezuela is willing to reach "a peaceful accord" with Guyana over Essequibo. Venezuela also disputes Guyanan concessions for mineral extraction and oil production in Essequibo.***

The deal with Beal didn't happen but why did Beal Aerospace Tech wanted to put a base in Guyana? *** A major advantage of the Guyana site for the spaceport is its proximity to the Equator. This makes it easier to launch satellites, as the satellites can use the centrifugal force of the Earth to get into orbit. According to the company, a rocket launching a satellite into geosynchronous orbit from a site on the equator uses about 10-20% less fuel than rockets launched from Cape Canaveral.

The country has two other geographical advantages. It has large remote areas suitable for an incredibly noisy activity like launching rockets. The second reason is the expanse of ocean to the east and north, which is important for safety reasons. All rockets carrying satellites into geosynchronous orbits will be launched to the east, and all other satellites will be launched to the north. Beal's rocket, like all current rockets capable of launching satellites, will have multiple stages. As these stages fall off, they can fall into an uninhabited area. Similarly, if a rocket has to be aborted, it is important that it can fall to earth without incurring any safety obstacles.

Other reasons cited by Beal are the site's location in an english-speaking country with a legal system not dissimilar from that of the USA. The country is also politically stable.***

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(July 23, 2001)--sohu.com--Venezuela calls for end to Guyana border dispute--[Full text] Pro-government Venezuelan lawmakers have called for a peaceful end to a century-old border dispute with neighboring Guyana, under which it claims some three-quarters of the former British colony. The legislators visited settlements on the border with Guyana on Saturday to sign a declaration supporting President Hugo Chavez' position that a 1899 treaty giving a mineral-rich region called Esequibo to Guyana was "null and provocative."

The declaration also urged both nations to work for a swift solution to the dispute which would be "just, long-lasting and acceptable."

"We held a special session of the parliamentary Defense Committee and then we signed the document," legislator Saul Ortega told Reuters on Sunday. Over the past two years, Chavez's nationalist administration has revived the border controversy over Esequibo, a sparsely inhabited jungle region of some 63,600 square miles (159,000 square km) in eastern Guyana.

During his weekly radio talk show "Hello President" on Saturday, Chavez pledged cooperation "with Guyana and with all the people which live in that immense territory." "This cannot remain in limbo for much longer, we have to solve this situation," said Chavez, after talking by telephone with National Assembly President William Lara who headed the delegation.

Lara, a staunch Chavez supporter, insisted that "we do not have a hostile stance. This is not an unfriendly gesture toward Guyana or anyone." In recent weeks, Chavez has also strongly defended Venezuela's sovereignty over a tiny island, the Isla de Aves, amid criticism from eastern Caribbean nations. The desert island, which is only inhabited part of the year, lies some 350 miles (565 km) north of Venezuela's coast. [End Text]

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Russia in Venezuela looking for launch site*** Russian-Venezuelan trade totals $100 million a year. The Russian delegation, including Oil Vice Minister Leonid Tropko, was expected to sign pacts on tourism, Russian investment and exploring the possibility of a commercial satellite launching facility in Venezuela.***

China's leader has visited Hugo Chavez and their countries have signed many agreements. I don't doubt Chavez would welcome any anti-American country to establish a beachhead or build a launch facility in his country. China already has set up a spy station in Cuba. -- Russia closing huge eavesdropping site in Cuba*** The move by Russia raised speculation that China would now take the lead in covert operations on the island. The Chinese are alleged to have built an identical eavesdropping facility in Cuba known as Bejucal. The 2-year-old post in Havana province is believed to be capable of both eavesdropping and ``cyber-warfare.''***

U.S. Cautioned Leader of Plot Against Chávez***On Capitol Hill, Democrats voiced concern that the administration meetings with anti-Chávez leaders might undercut Washington's credibility as the region's main advocate for democracy.

"I'm very concerned about what message it sends about our support for democracy there and around the world," said Senator Tom Daschle, the Democratic majority leader. "I think that we've got to be supportive of democratic principles even when they choose to elect people we don't like."

In some ways, the back-and-forth between administration officials and Democrats recalled the suspicion and bitter policy battles over Central America and Cuba during the Reagan administration. The administration's foreign policy team is dominated by anti-Castro hard-liners, who fought those policy battles, and they are running afoul of familiar antagonists including Senator Christopher Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat who has long specialized in Latin American affairs.

Mr. Dodd expressed dismay that the administration had been slow to criticize Mr. Chávez's ouster. Administration officials erroneously reported on Friday that Mr. Chávez had resigned and said his antidemocratic behavior was responsible for his undoing. Only after Mr. Chávez had been restored on Saturday did the administration support a resolution at the Organization of American States condemning the interruption of democratic rule.

"While all the details of the attempted coup in Venezuela are not yet known, what is clear is that the vast majority of governments in the hemisphere lived up to their responsibilities under the Inter-American Democratic Charter, and denounced the unconstitutional efforts to take power from a government which had been freely elected," Mr. Dodd said.

Mr. Reich, who is a Cuban exile, warned Congressional aides that there was more at stake in Venezuela than the success or failure of Mr. Chávez. American officials accuse Mr. Chávez of meddling with the historically independent state oil company, providing haven to Colombian guerrillas and bailing out Cuba with preferential rates on oil.

In the closed door briefing, Mr. Reich said the administration had received reports that "foreign paramilitary forces" suspected to be Cubans were involved in the bloody suppression of anti-Chávez demonstrators, in which at least 14 people were killed, a Congressional official said today.

Mr. Reich, who declined to be interviewed today, offered no evidence for his assertion, the official said. ***

Cincy, I recalled an "old, weird file" I've had a while & not used.... let my toss it out, just FYI and for reference:

------------------------------------------

Here are some figures:

executed	18,000
extrajudicial assassinations	1,000
disappeared	250
died in prison for lack of medical attention	50
murdered in prison by guards (brutality)	500
extrajudicial assassinations of women, for different causes	150
Sub-total for extrajudicial killings	20,400
political prisoners who reportedly committed suicide in prison	200
died at sea attempting to flee "balseros" - estimate based on Coast Guard estimates of casualties	83,000
Cubans killed in "internationalist-solidarity" wars in Africa	10,000
Total	113,600

The above numbers don't include deaths caused by Batista regime, documented by Armando Lago at 2,500, of which 2,200 are deaths in military battles in the Sierra Maestra, mostly soldiers, and 300 were murdered by Batista security forces.
To put these numbers into some context, note that all deaths reported during the entire Pinochet regime in Chile totaled no more than 3,100, a figure which includes the disappeared.
Nota Bene: Following the journalistic code of reporting by the Voice of America (VOA), two independent sources are used to confirm report of incident.
Photo credit: Juan Clark, Ph.D. Cuba: Exodus, Living Conditions and Human Rights.

Lest we forget, this list is a few years old, you can increase it by the number of deaths in the Straits (The Killing Waters), by the number of deaths in the Tugboat 13 de Marzo Massacre, and the murdered Brothers to the Rescue pilots.

Luis

6 Posted on 07/31/2001 14:42:21 PDT by Luis Gonzalez --------------------------------------------

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