I know many Colombians who fled Colombia because of persecution that increased against them in part due to Plan Colombia, so I guess that we can each find our own experts no?

I find it interesting that Chavez has offered no substantive proof of the alleged “drone mission”. We know that Chavez sent tanks to the Columbian border because he gave the order on live television, but how do we know that the Columbian “drone incident” is real? How about offering up some substantial proof? A photo? Some sort of electronic radar data, etc.?

Chavez has been threatening Colombia with war as the reality of 10 years of failed policies start adding up. Could it be that Chavez needs to distract the population from the failures of his administration by instigating anger against an outside enemy? (Consider that after 10 years of complete control by Chavez, Venezuela has: a shrinking economy; one of the highest inflation rates in the world; insane crime rates; and is near the top of government corruption indexes worldwide.) Realistically, Chavez doesn’t actually want a war with Columbia. He can’t afford it or mange it, and he knows that when push comes to shove it will be easier to control the population by using the strategies that his heroes Fidel, Idi Amin, Gaddafi, etc. used once their revolutions failed to deliver meaningful improvements. However, by escalating tensions it will be easier for him to continue to eliminate any checks and balances on his power.

This man’s ego has been on a 10 year power grab. Historically, the problem in Venezuela was corruption, not democracy or even capitalism. Now meaningful democracy in Venezuela is on its last breath, and corruption, suppression of speech, and economic inefficiency are king. God help the good people of Venezuela!

you know, I’m pretty critical of hugo chavez, just because so many radical leftists love him so. I also know that he has been no friend to the indigenous population in his country–they’ve had to fight for every victory they’ve won under his regime.

But I must say–I think it’s pretty astounding that *anybody* could find hard to believe that there is covert shit going on in Latin America. This is *latin america* were talking about remember? How long has the U.S. made it a priority to interfere in the goings on there? Either through government coups or corporate murders?

My take is that all of the stuff Hugo is saying happened, happened. But he is also using every last bit of it to justify and increase his own power and manipulation of power.

If there were U.S. drones in Venezuela, it would be to target Colombian rebel groups that take refuge there.

Meagan, are my questions too controversial(or dumb) to answer?

La Macha,

Just because the U.S. has acted covertly in the past(see Che Guevara, for example) does not mean that everything Mr. Chavez says is true. Lies can serve Chavez just as much as the truth can.

Latin America has some of the biggest swaths of unused resources in the world. Read Comandante Marcos sometime about the resources that Zapatista tribes hold. There is a reason tribal peoples in Latin America are under such constant threat not just from corporate/globalization threats–but from within their own countries. Mexico is one of the biggest and most violent aggressors against the Zapatistas, and outside of Bolivia, I think you could say that about most tribal peoples and the nation/states they exist within.

in short, there’s more of a reason now, post communism, to be acting covertly in Latin America than ever before. When nation/states hold some of the largest reserves of oil in the world, it is naive at best to say that there is no national interest in U.S. interference in the region.

Also, read this speech by noam chomsky about the influence that Latin America is steadily gaining and why it’s considered a threat.

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