www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall The situation in Latin America

Early on the morning of April 12, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez resigned his office as a result of pressure from the Veneuzuelan Armed Forces.

Chavez's government faced massive protests this week as a result of his installing cronies to run the Venezuelan state-owned oil company, PDVSA.

Anger had been building for some time at Chavez. Chavez visited countries such as Cuba, Libya, Iraq and Iran, pressured OPEC to raise oil prices, alienated the Armed Forces of his country after ceasing contact with the US Armed Forces, refused Amercian assistance after the massive flooding of Vargas state, and accused his critics of coercion against him. Chavez shut down the television channel operated by the Catholic Church in Venezuela and frequently lumped in Church leaders with others he verbally attacked on a regular basis.

Chavez criticized the United States for attacking the Taliban government in Afghanistan and angered many with his cronyism with Fidel Castro. According to the Associated Press and other wire sources, this deeply angerd many in the Venezuelan military. Many of them fought against pro-Castro gurrellas in the early 1960s. Chavez had been frequently accused of supporting the FARC terrorists in Colombia. The Bogota newspaper El Tiempo reported that the FARC had bases inside Venezuelan territory. It was also suspected that Chavez hid Peruvian spymaster vladimir Montesinos after he and President Alberto Fujimori fled Peru under circumstances similar to Chavez' departure from office.

After evidence surfaced that pro-Chavez groups known as Bolivarian Circles were shooting at and killing unarmed civilians marching towards Miraflores Palace, the military decided it could no longer support Chavez. Currently, he is being held at a military base awaiting criminal charges against him. Chavez' request for asylum in Cuba was denied.

One can hope that a brighter day and future awaits the Venezuelan people, who certainly deserve better. Venezuela is a potentially wealthy country, on the north coast of South America (the old spanish Main). Caracas is less than a three hour flight to Miami, and Venezuela is one of the leading oil suppliers to the united States. Venezuela has massive oil reserves, most of the country enjoys a good climate, although in some places it rains quite heavily, and the world's largest waterfall, Salto Angel (Angel Falls).

Once again, a political movement in Latin America modeled at least in part after Castro's Cuba has failed, just as the FMLN, the Sandinistas and the Shining Path have failed. I hope Castro shares Chavez' fate one day soon and that the people of Cuba will be free.

Usually I'm not to supportive of a military take over, but in the case in which Chavez decided he wanted to lead his country I think the military leaders move was probably the right one. Chavez can be as anti-American as he wants but with his country in the condition it is in one must be a better strategist and take a much more silent and vague approach to US relations. Chavez seems not to have the ability to gage the times very well. And his support of the FARC is monumental in mistake. I don't know Chavez personaly, but he may be more concerned with his own intrests then that of the people he was suppose to serve.

I believe that there is a large number of Russians and Ukrainians, as well as melkites, living in Venezuala. Most came as displaced persons after World War 2. In fact the Russian Cathedral in Caracas is extremely beautiful, probably one of the most in the whole of ROCOR!

Does anyone know of the conditions that immigrants to Venezuala like these Eastern Christians are fairing down there, especially in the present situation?

I dont mean to knock Venezuala any but I always wondered about conditions for immigrants there since one heres of so litle migration to central America.

Robert K.

Maximus, I agree with you.

Anti-Americanism runs throughout Latin America. Some of it is deserved, and some of it isn't.

The United States is Venezuela's leading trade partner. Chavez made the error that so many caudillos made - he decided to blame the US implicitly when he took on the old corrupt oligarchy of Venezuela, and he sided with the wrong people. Venezuelans aren't stupid. They know what countries are and are not worth dealing with. A stronger alliance with the Castro government, which is quite despised among many Venezuelans, was the wrong way to go. Chavez' rantings and ravvings drove many of the Venezuelan middle class and wealthy to South Florida, where they are now building homes and starting businesses. That's good news for South Florida, but the "brain drain" to a developing country such as Venezuela is enormous.

Robert K., I don't know about the status of immigrants to Venezuela. I was unaware of Russians and Ukranians there. I know a number of Italians emigrated there after WWII, but a lot of them returned to Italy during the 1980s.

E-mail message
Date: Mon, Apr 15, 2002, 1:10am To: undisclosed-recipients:;

Subject: Cuban Exiles in Venezuela

Reply�to: Mr Abdur Garcia Islamovic

I just received the following message from my sister in Venezuela
(unfortunately it is in Spanish and my English is not too good to translate
it).

I am sending it to you as is, so whomsoever reads Spanish can translate it more accurately.

Here you will appreciate the anguish and desperate situation in her
words.

Even before the event of this weekend the life of Cuban exiles there
was very hard and now it could be worse.

On Venezuelan streets run the
fascist gangs of Chavez spreading a state of terror among the pacific
citizen. There's no room for civic action, when they are in full control of
the streets and the media.

I beg by this means to inform our congressmen and persons concerned with Cuba in
America, in an action to protect the life of the Cuban Exiles in Venezuela.

Please, if you have the email address of President Bush, Lincoln
Diaz-Ballart, Ileana Ross, Bob Menendez, Otto Reich and Mel Martinez,

I beg
you to write them and forward them this message.

Cubans Exiles in Venezuela are up to the unmercifulness of those barbarians
and they need protection: URGENT!

Respectfully,

Rafael

[ 04-15-2002: Message edited by: Abdur Islamovic ]

For those who were pleased at the news of Hugo Chavez' departure, it seems that the celebrations were too soon.

The Veneuelan military returned Chavez to Miraflores Palace on Sunday. Chavez spoke of softening his tone, among other things, and asked for calm.

The Veneuelan community in South Florida, which was jubilant at the news of Chavez' downfall, was subdued when it was learned that he was back in power.

Chavez has been notably weakened. There are still elements in the military who wish him gone. Capital flight continues, and oil prices will likely rise in the future. The presence of FARC gurrellas in Venezuela will be charged against Chavez.

To sum it up - he has his power back - for now. How much longer is anyone's guess.

In other news, the FARC tried to assasinate Colombian presidental candidate Alvaro Uribe. Uribe survived the attempt, but a little girl lost her leg in the attack, where a bomb was planted under a bridge.

Colombian President Pastrana was to speak before the US Congress to ask for more American aid to his government in fighting the FARC. Since Washington has Middle-East-on-the-brain (only El Tiempo from Bogota mentioned this news item) I don't expect Pastrana to get help from the likes of Pat Leahy or Christopher Dodd.