Chavez $1M Support for Al Qaeda Confirmed

Chavez
Chavez: Likes to talk, but suddenly
silent on $1M Al Qaeda payment

Following the money trail
In the world of terrorist financing, bank records naturally do not tell the true origin nor destination of funds. That's why no one will ever be able to find a check signed by Hugo Chavez with the payee's name as Osama Bin Laden.

But there are other ways to get to the truth. The best is to talk to those who were involved. Therefore, investigators rely heavily on the testimony of the insiders who carried out the operations and those who were material witnesses to the transactions.

Today in Venezuela, many of the men who were closest to Hugo Chavez in the 9/11 aftermath have now turned away from him. And they are talking.
Are they telling the truth?
Here are some questions that the world needs to know the answers to:

For the Chavez government, to determine the veracity of the claim that funds were sent to Al Qaeda after 9/11:

Did you or did you not arrange for Walter Marquez to give $1M to the Taliban post-9/11?

Did he or did he not carry out the mission succesfully?

Do you deny that those involved, first Juan Diaz Castillo, and then Walter Marquez, were given clear instructions by Diosdado Cabello that $100,000 of the money should be left with the Taliban but that the Taliban should then arrange for the remaining $900,000 to reach Al Qaeda?

Did you or did you not claim publically, on Venezuelan TV and to the local press at the time, that the money was for UNHCR relief efforts?

For UNHCR, to determine the veracity of the claim that the Venezuelan government concocted a cover story to hide the true destination of the $1M Al Qaeda support:

Were you contacted by Venezuela post-9/11 and told that you would receive humanitarian aid for Afghanistan?

Did you ever see any of the $1M from Venezuela?

Straight questions demand straight answers. If Chavez will not talk, others will.

By Johan Freitas, in Caracas

A Venezuelan army intelligence officer has come forward with testimony and documentation which confirms the recent accusations of a $1M donation from Hugo Chavez to Osama Bin Laden's Al Qaeda organization.

" - What Major Juan Diaz Castillo says is completely true. I know it, and Hugo Chavez knows it," states the intelligence officer who is in active service in the Venezuelan Army and holds the rank of Coronel.

He has in his possession intelligence files detailing Chavez connections to a total of five different terrorist organizations, four of which are classified as such by the FBI. The documents were made available to Militares Democraticos, a military resistance movement formed by a group of former Chavez loyalists from the armed forces who are today calling for free and democratic elections in their country.

The coronel is currently still in Venezuela, and fears for his life after two other whistleblowers suffered assasination attempts by the Chavez secret service on the freeway between Caracas and Valencia Dec 16.
He has made plans to go underground and asked Militares Democraticos for safe passage out of the country so he can go public with his accusations.

" - Chavez is using Venezuelan oil billions to sponsor international terrorism, and the world needs to know that," says the coronel who is prepared to fully confirm the previous statements made by presidential pilot Juan Diaz Castillo as soon as he is safely out of the country and no longer within the reach of Chavez Death Squads.

Meanwhile, Venezuelans are asking why Chavez has not publicly denied the Al Qaeda accusions. They made front page news in the country, but Chavez kept his silence. They were lead-in stories for news shows in Europe, the U.S. and even neighboring Colombia. Still, Chavez would not comment.

If the accusations were not true, political commentators ask, why not just say so?

Brigadier General Nestor Gonzalez Gonzalez, who knows Chavez well but is today a member of the opposition, explains the reason:
" - Chavez can't deny the story. If he does, he will be lying. This, a public lie, could trigger more desertations of current Chavez-loyalists. People who did his dirty work, but will not be part of a cover-up because they know that too many others are aware of the true facts. And they know that the details of the Al Qaeda financing have begun to emerge. Chavez can not risk that."

It is telling that Chavez has not publicly denied the recent Al Qaeda accusions. His current tactic of not commenting on the scandal may seem strange, considering that it has been frontpage news all over Venezuela.
" - But to Chavez, silence is the safest strategy for him," thinks Gonzalez.
" - Because if he denies it, more and more whistleblowers will come forward and documents like the ones that the army intelligence colonel has will start to appear. Remember that Chavez has a weakness: he likes to talk. So a lot of people who used to work in the Miraflores presidential palace around September and October 2001 know what really happened."

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.