VENEZUELA: Chavez Takes Steps to Avoid Purported Assassination Threat

By Humberto Márquez Reprint | | Print |

Humberto Márquez

CARACAS, Jun 23 2005 (IPS) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez has cancelled several public appearances, including a military parade traditionally held every Jun. 24, over continued fears of an attempt on his life.

Earlier this week in Asunción, Paraguay, where he was attending a Southern Common Market (Mercosur) summit, Chávez reiterated that opposition sectors based in Miami, Florida are plotting to kill him in order to "crush the Bolivarian Revolution."

Chávez was referring to the peaceful "revolution" of economic and social changes that he has led since taking power in Venezuela. It is named for Simón Bolívar, the 19th-century founding father of Venezuelan independence and a fervent proponent of South American integration.

"They think that by eliminating Chávez, they will destroy the revolution. But if they ever do manage to kill me, the Venezuelan people will make them pay dearly," he told the audience at a public appearance in Asunción.

Chávez voiced a similar message during a recent episode of his weekly radio and television programme, "Aló Presidente", broadcast every Sunday, in which he stressed that in the event that he is assassinated, the rest of the leadership of the government and the armed forces "all know what to do. The plans are already in place. We will not allow anyone to come in and take over our country."

Opposition lawmakers have accused Chávez of using his claims of a potential assassination as a "smokescreen" to draw attention away from other urgent matters, like the difficulties facing the state-run oil industry despite record high world market prices, or legal reforms to punish political crimes and strengthen state control of the economy.

But retired general and political scientist Alberto Müller commented to IPS that "the risks of assassination are real, because the current international climate is unfavourable to the United States, and Chávez is one of the obstacles standing in the way of its interests."

Analyst Eleazar Díaz Rangel, director of the Caracas newspaper Ultimas Noticias, concurred that it is entirely reasonable to consider the possibility of an assassination plot, "because all of the other attempts (by the opposition) to get rid of Chávez have failed," from the frustrated April 2002 coup d’état and the two-month business and oil industry strike in late 2002 and early 2003 to the August 2004 presidential recall referendum that ended up merely strengthening his mandate.

Díaz Rangel also recalled the role played by the United States in the 1973 overthrow of democratically elected socialist Chilean president Salvador Allende, after years of U.S.-backed attempts to destabilise the country.

He also referred to intelligence reports detailing plots against the Venezuelan leader’s life compiled by the Cuban secret service, "one of the most efficient in the world."

For his part, Venezuelan Interior Minister Jesse Chacón stated that "the grounds for the theory of a possible assassination attempt are growing stronger every day." He added that those conspiring to take the president’s life are "opposition factions who do not believe in elections," and could also include dissident members of the armed forces and even "subversive elements" from Colombia.

Chacón maintained that meetings for this purpose have been held at the Bogotá, Colombia residence of exiled Venezuelan businessman Pedro Carmona, who served as de facto president during the short-lived coup that removed Chávez from office for two days in April 2002.

Carmona denied these accusations in statements to a Caracas TV station on Wednesday, claiming that such activities "would go against my moral and Christian principles. I live in Bogotá in a totally open and transparent manner, devoting my time to study and teaching."

On the weekend of May 28-29, Chávez was conspicuously absent from a march that crossed Caracas to the government palace in a show of support for the request to have Cuban-born terrorist Luis Posada Carriles extradited from the United States to Venezuela. That Sunday’s episode of his weekly radio and TV programme was also cancelled, with no explanation.

A wave of rumours swept the country, raising the possibilities that he was seriously ill or had even been assassinated.

Hundreds of Chávez’s followers camped out at the doors to the presidential palace until he finally reappeared and explained that he had been "kidnapped" by his eight-year-old daughter, and had cancelled his programme so as not to interrupt the broadcast of a volleyball game.

A few days later, the president and his associates reported that evidence had been found that the rooftop of a building along the route to be followed by the march could have been used by sharp-shooters to carry out an assassination attempt.

"There were Colombians there observing the layout and testing out shooting angles," said Chávez.

Last week, at a meeting with new graduates from the military academy, Chávez announced the cancellation this Friday of the military parade held every Jun. 24 to mark National Armed Forces Day, in commemoration of the 1921 Battle of Carabobo, a decisive victory in the war of independence against Spain.

The parade is traditionally held in Carabobo Field, located 80 kilometres southwest of Caracas, with the participation of thousands of troops from all four branches of the Venezuelan armed forces (the army, navy, air force and national guard).

Chávez said evidence had been uncovered of an assassination plot to be carried out near Carabobo Field, but stressed that no members of the military were involved.

"Those who claim that the president distrusts the armed forces are trying to provoke suspicion among us, with the obvious intent of causing problems. This is psychological warfare," he told the new officers.

The president said that military intelligence had presented firm, credible evidence that there are groups trying to organise a coup d’etat, and that some of the individuals involved are based in the United States, and have travelled to Venezuela through Bogotá and the Caribbean. As a result, he added, he was advised not to attend the May 29 march.

"I have the responsibility to listen to these things, and so I will reiterate here that this is the reason why the military parade was cancelled," he explained.

For his part, Defence Minister General Jorge García announced that instead of the parade, a ceremony would be held at Fort Tiuna in Caracas.

Concerns over a possible plot to kill Chávez are nothing new. In March, the U.S. ambassador to Venezuela himself, William Brownfield, admitted that former ambassador Charles Shapiro had informed the Venezuelan authorities of "actions against the current administration" on two occasions.

Although Brownfield did not specify the origin of these actions, he noted that "The first time was in April 2002, when (Shapiro) spoke to the (Venezuelan) president about the possibility of a coup," which did in fact materialise.

"The other time was in September or October (2004), when (Shapiro) spoke with Vice President Rangel about a possible assassination attempt," said Brownsfield, who added that in both cases, the former ambassador was acting as required by U.S. law.

In the mid-1970s, Washington officially prohibited the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from planning or participating in assassination attempts against foreign leaders.

Meanwhile, back in February, Cuban President Fidel Castro maintained that while he was still conscious of the dangers he faces himself, he was more concerned over the security of Chávez and Venezuela.

"And I want to state clearly that if Chávez is assassinated, the responsibility will fall entirely on the president of the United States, George W. Bush," he declared.