The Venezuela Reader

  2002: Leopoldo Lopez and Henrique Capriles Arrested a Cabinet Minister During the Coup In April 2002 a short-lived (47 hour) coup occurred when a group of dissident Generals arrested President Hugo Chavez and removed him from the Presidential residence. The Generals installed a businessman, Pedro Carmona, as President. One of the key events leading to the coup was a march by several hundred thousand anti-Chavez protesters. The March was diverted from its authorized route to a route toward the Presidential residence. This led to a confrontation at the Llaguna Bridge Overpass where 19 people were killed. In his book chronicling the events of April 2002, My Testimony Before History, Carmona wrote that the protest’s fatal route change was “authorized by Mayor Leopoldo Lopez.” [1]   On April12, Carmona issued a set of decrees which included voiding the Constitution and dissolving the National Assembly and Supreme Court. One of the Carmona Decrees called for the arrests of Pre...

  2001: Hugo Chavez Condemned US Cluster Bombing of Afghanistan Following the 9/11/2001 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, President Bush announced a “War on Terror,” saying: “Either you are with us, or you’re with the terrorists.” On October 7, 2001, the US began bombing suspected terrorist camps in Afghanistan. In the first week, U.S bombers dropped 50 cluster bombs.[3] A single cluster bomb opens as it falls and releases hundreds of smaller bomblets. The bomblets from a single cluster bomb explode over a large area of up to four football fields. The 50 cluster bombs contained 10,100 bomblets.[3]   On a TV broadcast in Venezuela on October 29,2001, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez held up a photo of children killed by the US bombing. He condemned the US bombing in Afghanistan as a “slaughter of innocents,” saying: “This is fighting terrorism with more terrorism.” [1] He said their deaths had “no justification, just as the attacks in New York did not eith...

  2023: Maria Machado’s Win in the Presidential Primary Was Denounced as a “Scam” (UPDATED) The Democratic Unity Platform (PUD) was a coalition of political parties, civil society and trade unions opposed to the government of President Nicolas Maduro. PUD appointed a five-member National Primary Commission (CNP) to organize an election to pick an opposition candidate for the 2024 Presidential election.   Maria Machado (Leader of the Vente Venezuela party) announced her candidacy and Carlos Prosperi was nominated by the Democratic Action party. Thirteen candidates announced for the Primary. The Primary was scheduled for October 2023. The CNP announced that it would self-organize the primary vote and count the ballots manually. [1] That decision led to the resignation of Rafael Arraiz Lucca, one of the CNP’s alternate members, who argued that without the National Electoral Council (CNE) an inclusive primary process would be “impossible.” [1] Analysts warned that a manual vot...

  2006: The Bush Administration Blocked Venezuela’s Purchase of Military Cargo Planes from Spain Venezuela had acquired eight military cargo planes in 1985. Due to high maintenance costs, only one remained in service in 2005.In November2005, Spanish and Venezuelan Defense Ministers signed an agreement for the sale of ten unarmed Spanish Military transport planes to Venezuela [1]. The $600 million deal was seen as important to Spain’s economy. Because the planes contained some U.S parts, the U.S. could veto the sale of the aircraft under the 1976 Arms Export Control Act. That 1976 Law subjected US-made technologies designated as “military” to export control. This meant that customers required approval from the US State Department any time they wanted to transfer those technologies to another country either as a direct sale or as a component in a larger item. The Bush Administration denied Spain’s request in January 2006, saying that the sale would strengthen the government of H...

  2002-2020: Ivan Simonovis, Police Captain, Imprisoned for 15 years, Guest of President Trump Ivan Simonovis began his career as a policeman in 1981. In 2000, Simonovis was appointed Secretary of Security for the Caracas mayor’s office. The mayor was Alfredo Pena, a staunch critic of President Hugo Chavez. On April 11, 2002, over 100,000 anti-Chavez protesters began an authorized march in Caracas. The marchers changed direction and began an unauthorized march toward the Presidential Palace, Miraflores to demand Chavez resign. Their route would have taken them under the Llaguno Bridge Overpass where hundreds of Chavez supporters had gathered. A shootout took place between the Chavez supporters on the Bridge and police sharpshooters on the street below. The police claimed that the Chavez supporters had been shooting at the anti-Chavez marchers and that the police shooters were protecting the protesters. Video footage showed that the street below was empty with no protestors pres...