Posted on 03/08/2003 12:55:32 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
The peach stucco house fades into Kendall's landscape, not a hint of the politics humming inside.
Posters line a room in the back, bearing the likeness of embattled Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. Red pins dot a U.S. map, marking this pro-Chávez base and others recently formed around the nation, known as Bolivarian Circles -- the controversial beating heart of Chávez's civic support.
One year ago, Jesús Soto's Kendall home became the first U.S. extension of the Chávez-organized groups. In Venezuela, critics claim, the groups are armed and trained by the government and strike out violently against journalists and civilians.
''We want to spread the circles abroad and defend them so people stop believing we are terror circles like they say -- armed to attack the wealthy,'' said Soto, 36, who inaugurated the circle in Bayfront Park wearing a red beret and fatigues on Feb. 4, 2002 -- the anniversary of Chávez' failed 1992 coup.
Since then, 17 other circles have sprung up from Connecticut to Wyoming.
That South Florida -- rich with anti-Chávez Venezuelans and Cuban exiles -- is hostile nesting ground for Chávez support is not lost on Soto.
''Our work is to try to change the image that Chávez is a dictator,'' Soto said. ``In Venezuela there is a deep democracy. We elected this president. . . . The opposition here is telling the media lies.''
Florida's largely upper-middle class Venezuelan opposition showed its clout in January when an estimated 60,000 people -- the majority of them Venezuelan -- gathered on Calle Ocho to protest Chávez's leadership.
By comparison, the 180 members of Miami's Bolivarian Circle seem scant. An additional 23 members belong to circles in Tampa, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale.
SOURCE OF NAME
The groups take their name from Simón Bolívar, the South American general who liberated much of the region, including Venezuela, from Spain in the 1800s.
Changing Chávez's image ''is the work of ants,'' said Tahid Soto, Jesús Soto's wife, who helps coordinate the U.S. circles with those in Venezuela. ``Little by little, it's coming along.''
Fear could be the reason that membership is minimal compared to the sizable -- and very visible -- Venezuelan opposition in the United States, said Carlos Matamoros, a radio host.
''I have a lot of friends who support Chávez who live clandestinely. They are scared to express what they think out of fear of retaliation,'' said Matamoros, who hosts Hablando Claro, a program about Venezuela, on Union Radio, WOCN-AM 1450.
Circle leaders draw strength from what they say is a growing Bolivarian international network. The U.S. circle members will hold their first national assembly in New York in March, and Chávez representatives from Venezuela plan to attend.
The Venezuelan government also will host an international Bolivarian Circle meeting in April in Caracas. ''There are circles in Bilbao, Madrid, Denmark -- all over the place. It's really neat,'' said Guillermo García Ponce, Chávez advisory committee coordinator, in an interview with The Herald in Caracas. He acknowledged that South Florida has become an anti-Chávez stronghold.
''I suppose [the Miami circle] will have to keep a low profile,'' García said.
Anti-Chávez activists say they do not oppose the presence of a Bolivarian Circle in Miami as long as it doesn't instigate the violence they allege the circles have caused in Venezuela -- a claim Soto and others deny.
''The government has allowed the Bolivarian Circles to attack the newspapers, attack the reporters,'' said Raúl Leoni, a Venezuelan opposition leader who lives in Weston. ``The fact that you win an election doesn't make you eternal if you're not doing your job correctly.''
NO THREATS RECEIVED
Soto said no threats have been made against him or other members, though a fire bomb was placed under his car eight years ago after he made a television appearance supporting Chávez's unsuccessful coup. No one was injured and no arrests were made.
The Bolivarian Circles -- along with Chávez's controversial 1999 ''Bolivarian constitution'' -- are part of his overarching ``Bolivarian Revolution.''
Some 70,000 circles exist in Venezuela, made up largely of the working class. Typically, they meet weekly and engage in humanitarian projects such as providing food for the poor -- with military financing -- and building schools.
Critics compare the circles to Fidel Castro's Committees for the Defense of the Revolution.
Several of the Venezuelans present at a recent documentary screening sponsored by a Hialeah circle work at blue-collar jobs in Miami and drive older cars -- a clear distinction from the largely well-heeled protesters at January's march.
''The only way to understand Venezuela is to understand the deep divisions of race and class. It cuts that way,'' said Jerry Haar, a senior research associate at the University of Miami's North-South Center. ``The lighter-skinned you are, the higher level of income, education and prominence you have in party politics. Chávez, being none of those things, is the odd man out.''
Both sides vehemently dispute the notion that only the poor support Chávez and that only the rich oppose him. The opposition has increasingly cut across the social spectrum as more people lose faith in the shaky administration.
Chávez supporters simply point to the group Clase Media en Positiva -- a Venezuelan-based organization of working professionals who support Chávez -- to show diversity in their ranks.
Elias Halabi, who recently fled Valencia, Venezuela, for Miami Beach after his home and car dealership were bombed, is a member of the group. ''I am a prosperous businessman and I sympathize with the ideas of Chávez,'' said Halabi, 48. ``Revolution is change. It's not a process towards communism. It's a process towards democracy and participation. The government before was a mafia.''
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Chavez's Key Backers ***"Commander" Lina Ron - The spread of the "Circles" has led to the emergence of a number of popular leaders. Among them is Lina Ron - emblematic leader of the People's Power Network - who has taken to the streets to defend Mr Chavez.
Ms Ron is famous for having set fire to the US flag in Bolivar Square in Caracas just days after the 11 September attacks in the US, and is known by her supporters as the "Commander".
When she was briefly arrested in November 2002 for confronting an anti-Chavez student demonstration, President Chavez defended her as a political prisoner, describing her as "a soldier who deserves the respect of all Venezuelans".
But when the opposition marched to the National Electoral Council to hand in a petition calling for a non-binding referendum on the president's rule, Lina Ron was blamed by the government for instigating violent protests by government supporters.
President Chavez described Ms Ron as "uncontrollable".***
Nerves Frayed in Venezuela After Killings of Chávez Opponents ***Mr. Chávez has styled his government on Cuban socialist ideals and the nationalist fervor of Venezuela's 19th century revolutionary leader, Simón Bolivár. After gaining power in 1998, he set up community networks called Bolivarian Circles, which were meant to spread the word of his revolution. But the opposition says Mr. Chavez's supporters take his calls to defend the revolution literally. They brand the groups Circles of Terror, and they have started their own armed groups to oppose them. The political situation, with daily marches by supporters and opponents of the president, is growing more tense as Mr. Chávez refuses to bend to opposition calls to hold early elections. His term in office ends in 2007.***
Anti-Chavez protesters tortured - murdered***Rosana Rivero was still alive and was taken to a nearby hospital, where her condition is described as critical. The bodies of naval officer Angel Salas and infantryman Darwin Arguello, both 21, were discovered in a park east of the city on Monday afternoon. All the four dead were found bound and gagged. Police gave the cause of death as multiple shotgun wounds, and added that the bodies showed additional injuries consistent with the use of torture.
The leader of the dissident military officers, General Enrique Medina Gomez, said the officers were part of a group which took turns to keep watch over the square. He described the murders as "a crime against humanity". Salas' brother Edwin, who is also a rebel naval officer, said the dissidents' public stand against the Chavez government had made them many enemies. He said he and his brother had been subjected to constant intimidation since deciding to join the protests. Mr Salas accused elements within the Venezuelan police and intelligence services of "persecuting" dissident officers. He said that they had also received violent threats from the Bolivarian Circles - groups of pro-government activists - and from the far-left Tupamaro group.***
U.S. ambassador in Venezuela voices concern about terrorist groups in Latin America*** CARACAS, Venezuela - The United States is concerned that international terrorist groups have established bases in Venezuela and other Latin American countries, the U.S. ambassador said Friday. "We are worried about the existence of terrorist groups not only in Venezuela but in all Latin American countries," Charles Shapiro told reporters after meeting with Venezuelan Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel.***
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_____________________________________Hugo Chavez - Venezuela
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Venezuelan Air Force Major Juan Diaz Castillo, who is now seeking political asylum in the United States and says his "life and liberty are in danger in Venezuela," says Chavez chose him to conduct the transfer because he trusted him as a close personal assistant. But Díaz, disgusted with Chavez's regime, resigned his post on October 25 - and fled following a December 16 attempt on his life.
At a Miami press conference this past Sunday, Diaz said that shortly following the September 11 terrorist attacks, Chavez commissioned him "to organize, coordinate, and execute a covert operation consisting of delivering financial resources, specifically $1 million, to [Afghanistan's] Taliban government, in order for them to assist the al-Qaeda terrorist organization," while, "making it appear as if humanitarian aid were being extended to the Afghan people." ***
Capriles offers discounts to Venezuelan clients. An Italian-made jacket costs $375, reduced from $498. Gas masks go for around $140. Other popular items include Mace, stun guns and more powerful electromuscular disruption devices, which can put down a human target at 20 feet. "We are going back, but we have to be prepared," said Leopoldo Baptista, the 60-year-old owner of a major Venezuelan construction company. Baptista spent several thousand dollars at Spytrix on protective gear for his wife and children.***
Well, I'm sure there are circles in Bilbao, because ETA is very active there. And we all know these Marxist/terrorist birds like to flock together.
Brazil blocking conference to deal with Latin crises*** Judging from the speeches and the talk in the hallways I heard at a top-level conference on military affairs earlier this week, there is a big bad boy who is blocking plans to solve Latin America's multiple crises -- Brazil. It's not that Brazil has done anything dreadful since the Jan. 1 inauguration of leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, said several participants at the meeting on ''Building Regional Security'' organized by the University of Miami's North-South Center. On the contrary, da Silva has proven to be more level-headed than many Washington conservatives had anticipated.
Rather, the problem is that Brazil, the biggest country in South America, is sitting on the sidelines while the neighborhood is afire, several of the speakers said. Brazil is still paralyzed by 19th century fears of U.S. imperial designs, which have long driven it to instinctively reject almost anything coming from Washington or supported by Washington, regardless of its merits, they said. These days, Brazil is effectively blocking a Canadian-sponsored proposal to hold an emergency summit with President Bush and 33 other elected leaders in the hemisphere, aimed at doing something about the escalating crises in Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina, Bolivia, Haiti and several other countries.
Such a presidential summit would, among other things, force the Bush administration to pay some attention to Latin America, which fell off White House radar screens after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. But while the United States, Mexico, Caribbean nations and most South American countries support the emergency summit, which would be held in September in Mexico, Brazil is stone-walling the proposal, Canadian and U.S. officials say. ''Everybody is mystified as to why Brazil doesn't go along,'' says Paul D. Durand, Canada's ambassador to the Organization of American States.***
Directly funded Al Queda.
We should kill this b*stard right before Mugabe.
Castro has been a busy fellow with Mugabe and Chavez.
-Time to kick the tires & light the fires, folks- terrorism gathers across the World...--
-All Terror, All the Time-- FR's links to NBC Warfare, Terror, and More...--
-Jihad! Across the World....--
Hugo Chavez and 9/11, self-proclaimed leader of the new "anti-Imperialist (anti-American) movement" (pro-Commie), Venezuela's oil billions fund terrorism and protests.
Related: March in protest against Chavez, get 5-10 years in jail
Sounds like a case for Homeland Security.
I feel our "boys" are on this.
Justice is coming.
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