Pentagon to Investigate Its Role in Venezuela*** WASHINGTON, April 22 - The Pentagon has ordered a review of its actions during the 48-hour ouster of President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela earlier this month to ensure that American military officials did not encourage a coup, a senior Defense Department official said today. The official stressed that the Pentagon has no evidence, nor even a suspicion, of American involvement in the brief removal of Mr. Chávez by a coalition of Venezuelan business leaders and dissident military officers. But he added that a review has been ordered to ensure no American officers were encouraging or supporting a coup on their own. "We are conducting our own review, just to make sure there were no freelancers here," said the official, who asked not to be identified.***
After the coup, the reckoning (Venezuela)***Latin American governments feared that Mr Chavez's overthrow would set a dreadful precedent in the region. They were behind the OAS's decision to convene a special session of its general assembly to discuss Venezuela on April 18th, something which the United States opposed, fearing it would give a platform to Mr Chavez. Ironically, the OAS's democratic charter, which requires it to intervene when democracy is threatened, was approved last year at the behest of the United States and despite dissent from Venezuela. The lesson for Mr Chavez is that he was saved not by Cuba's Fidel Castro, his best friend in the region, but by democracy, points out Mr Garrido.
Nobody has emerged from these events with much credit. They have cast a familiar shadow of political instability over Latin America-and given the no less familiar impression that the United States backs democracy in the region only if it is run by its friends. And while Mr Chavez has bobbed back, some Venezuelans believe his "revolution" has been mortally wounded. After all, many successful coups are preceded by botched attempts.***