Posted on 02/20/2003 3:03:28 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
Huh?
We are either being out-maneuvered because the administration is overloaded with executing the war on Iraq, and ignoring the terrorism support by Chavez, OR there is a covert operation waiting in abeyance for tactical reasons. Please God, Not Another BAY OF PIGS. Let's toast this guy's bacon REAL GOOD.
I hope that we are assisting the resistance down there with training and funding.
Somehow I doubt that we would find much support either in Congress or with our allies (not to mention our foes in the world) for such an action.
I think the best we can do here is support the opposition behind the scenes.
Yes, the press affectionately calls him a firebrand.
Chavez arresting opposition - allies say more arrests pending - Chavez: "I went to bed smiling"*** CARACAS, Venezuela - Thousands of government opponents staged a street rally on Thursday to protest the arrest of opposition leader Carlos Fernandez, who faces charges of treason and instigating violence. Chanting "Free Fernandez!" and "This is a dictatorship!" while waving red, yellow and blue Venezuelan flags, angry demonstrators marched round an air force base in eastern Caracas. Songs calling for peace boomed from loudspeakers while motorists honked horns.
President Hugo Chavez, speaking at the presidential palace, said he gave secret police the green light to detain Fernandez. "One of the coup plotters was arrested last night. It was about time, and see how the others are running to hide," Chavez triumphed. "I went to bed with a smile." Chavez said judges shouldn't "be afraid to issue arrest warrants against coup-plotters." Government opponents at the rally accused the former paratroop commander of trying to establish a Cuban-style dictatorship in this South American nation of 24 million.
"This is an escalation of violence by the government, which has arrived at the extreme of repression," said Carlos Feijoo, 88, a retired oil worker at the demonstration. "He wants to copy Fidel (Castro)." Government allies warned that more than 100 opposition leaders - ranging from labor bosses to news media executives - who supported a two-month strike to oust Chavez could also be arrested. The work stoppage ended on Feb. 4 in all sectors except the oil industry. "More than one hundred are on the list to be captured," said Luis Velasquez, a ruling party lawmaker. It could not be immediately confirmed if such a list existed. Eight armed secret police agents seized Fernandez at about midnight Wednesday as he was leaving a restaurant in Caracas' trendy Las Mercedes district, said his bodyguard, Juan Carlos Fernandez. He said the men fired in the air when patrons tried to stop them from taking Fernandez.
Fernandez and Carlos Ortega, president of the country's largest labor union, called the strike on Dec. 2 to demand Chavez's resignation and early elections. Fernandez's wife, Sonia, spoke briefly with her husband by telephone and said that he was in good condition at secret police headquarters. Fernandez was meeting with his attorneys, she said.
Ortega was ordered to surrender, also on treason and instigating violence charges, said magistrate Maikel Jose Moreno. The tough-talking labor boss said he wouldn't turn himself in. "We have nothing to fear," Ortega said in a telephone interview with the local Globovision TV channel. "The only one who has a date with justice is the president." ***
I could be wrong, but I think the administration is aware and doing things behind the scenes to prepare to deal with the problem. I think that is why they established the U.S. Southern Command in the first place.
And while it largely goes under the radar, I think Castro's days are already numbered. It is obvious that we can't allow WMDs 90 miles off our coast.
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