Tons tractionthe Chitaly constained by The US is politically constrained by the fact that Chavez is not a favoured go th Cat and defact had Chases isntr dictator, and has a stronger democratic mandate than probably Chavez to be assassinated only voiced the ultimate wish of the US government but was a major political embarrassment. Given Chaevz's democratic legitimacy, they need to provoke him into making a statement or adopting a course that could be construed as a threat to the United States. Chavez has become increasingly canny in this respect. But if he makes the mistake of deciding to develop a peaceful nuclear programme this will present the US with a golden propaganda opportunity, despite Bush's recent conciliatory comments on the matter. The US also have tried to make a big deal out of Chavez forbidding the Drug Enforcement Agency have in fact been used to bolster local rightists and undermine popular movements. In any case, the political political opposition powerful enough to oust Chavez or to take over in the event of his assassination. It is often forgotten that although the US-backed contras weakened the Nicaraguan revolution it was the massive funding of the right-wing opposition to the Sandinistas in the 1990 elections that administered the coup de grace.
In Venezuela this strategy has suffered serious setbacks. Currently four bodies organise political intervention into Venezuela: the State Department, the Agency for International Development (AID), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the misnamed National Endowment for Democracy (NED). AID officials work through the US Embassy in Caracas and through three associated 'private' offices there.
The US funded the old ruling-class parties, Accion Democratica and COPEI, for many years but these parties have been substantially weakened. They are associated, not only with the corruption of the preChavez Fourth Republic but with support for the coup, the economic shutattempt to get rid of Chavez through the referendum. All these projects were defeated.
Now AD and COPEI have issued a statement jointly with the new right-wing party, Justice First, declaring that they will participate in next year's presidential elections and henceforth respect the law. This of course represents only a Philip Agee articles posted at pragmatic recognition of the be regarded as potentially useful instruments by any half-way competent intelligence service
The third option is to wear Chavez down through an overt or covert war with a proxy opponent. The US and Britain supplied arms to Iraq in the 1980s to fight Khomeini's Iran. The obvious proxy here would be the Colombian government of Alvaro Uribe, but Uribe has his own battles to fight against the FARC* guerillas and does not want to risk a radicalisation of his citizens, among whom sympathy with the Bolivarian revolution is already widespread. Colombia also has strong economic links with
Nonetheless a large group of Colombian paramilitaries were arrested in Venezuela last year, suspected of involvement in a plot to assassinate Chavez. More recently Colombian special forces have abducted FARC leader seeking sanctuary in Venezuela and the US and Uribe continue to accuse Chavez of sheltering 'terrorists'.
Whichever strategy combination of strategies it adopts in relation down in 2002-3 and the Venezuela or any other country, 'the United States will never stop trying to turn the clock back',
as former CIA operative Philip Agee has warned. This will remain the case unless and until there is a socialist revolution in the US itself. *Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia For further information, see www.venezuelanalysis.com
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