James Wan & Alice Barnes

Wan & Barnes 35

James Wan & Alice Barnes

EDGE Fall 2004

Professor Lusignan

US involvement in world politics: Venezuela and Afghanistan

Introduction

In this paper we will seek to investigate official US interference in the politics and policies of selected foreign countries. We have chosen to research this topic by focusing on two main case studies. The first case study we will look at will be Venezuela. In our research on Venezuela we will assess US involvement in the series of events that led up to the recent general election and the tensions between President Hugo Chavez and the US government. We will investigate the allegations against the US government of covertly supporting the opposition to President Chavez and of generally trying to overthrow the President and interfere in Venezuelan politics. In order to provide support for the allegations against the US government we will be highlight some examples of previous US intervention in the politics of various other South American and Latin American countries. The other country we will analyse is Afghanistan and in our research on Afghanistan we will also look at certain other key countries involved in the dispute over the oil of the Caspian region. We have chosen these two countries as our case studies because we can contrast the very different approaches of the US government to the two areas. Although in both cases there is substantial evidence that the US government has acted to influence the politics of a country in order benefit the US, there are very clear differences in the tactics used by the US in each example.

In Venezuela the US interference has been far more covert than it has been in Afghanistan. An obvious difference between the two situations is that the US has actually gone so far as to use military force to overthrow the Taliban government of Afghanistan whereas in Venezuela it has been restricted to using less blatant methods to try to depose President Chavez. What does not appear to change however is the fact that the US government has attempted to hide the real reasons why they have sought to alter the politics of these foreign countries. Also, another constant factor in many US interventions in worldwide democracy, oil, is hugely important in both of these cases. In this paper we will endeavour to uncover the truth behind the actions of the US government; why they officially say that it is necessary for them to take action and the real reasons why they have done so. We will also seek to identify the factors that enable the US to behave in such a manner, for example, how the vast majority of mainstream US media works as a tool for the government rather than actually reporting the truth and, how the US government uses propaganda to cloud the vision of the US people.

Firstly we will closely examine the Venezuelan situation, the background of US-South/Latin American relations, the policies of President Chavez and why they should concern the US government, the allegations of US support for the opposition party and general attempts to disrupt Chavez’s government and, the US media’s coverage of events. Following this we will turn our attention to the Caspian region and primarily Afghanistan, and seek to draw many comparisons and highlight some important contrasts between the two areas.

I would like to add at this time the acknowledgement that the US is by no means alone in the behaviour of meddling in other countries’ affairs. The UK, France, Germany and Spain among others are also guilty of interference however, in this investigation we have chosen to focus our attention solely on the US.

Examples of US interference in South/Latin American countries

Unsurprisingly the US government denies any undercover, underhand attempts to influence Venezuelan politics. President Chavez is convinced that the US government is trying to orchestrate his downfall and although he claims he has evidence nothing has been produced as yet. The lack of concrete evidence of any dubious US involvement in Venezuela should not, however, be viewed as proof of the US’s innocence. The US government has a track record of interfering in the politics of various other South/Latin American countries. Tellingly, in many of the cases that I will now highlight not only did the US censor and manipulate the media coverage of events to hide the real truth, but also, they often denied any wrongdoing and distorted the facts of what actually occurred. The three cases I will look at briefly are Guatemala, Panama and, Nicaragua. Although these cases are not directly related to the events in Venezuela they do highlight the US’s attitude towards the governments of South/Latin American countries and how they believe they can treat their democratically elected leaders.

Guatemala

In 1954 the US provided financial aid and weapons to the Guatemalan army to enable them to overthrow then president Colonel Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán. The US did not agree with Guzmán’s policies, which included the redistribution of land belonging to the United Fruit Company. The United Fruit Company monopolised the country’s banana exports and was ultimately a law unto itself. Why should the government of Guatemala’s attempts to disrupt The United Fruit Company’s dominance concern the US? Perhaps because, “Secretary of State John Foster Dulles' law firm had prepared United Fruit's contracts with Guatemala; his brother, CIA Director Allen Dulles, belonged to United Fruit's law firm; John Moors Cabot, Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs, was the brother of a former United Fruit president and, President Eisenhower's personal secretary was married to the head of United Fruit's Public Relations Department.”[ThirdWorldTraveller]. Although, of course, it is not possible to prove that these connections influence the US behaviour the fact remains that the US supported a military coup, which succeeded in overthrowing a democratically elected president.

Panama

In December 1989 the US government launched a military attack on Panama. Several hundred civilians were killed and countless more were left homeless. The US claimed that this military action was necessary to remove from power Panamanian leader General Manual Noriega and bring him to the US to stand trial on drug trafficking charges. The actual motivation behind the US invasion was “the destruction of the Panamanian Defense Forces which, under Noriega, had grown more nationalistic and less responsive to US interests” (TheWinds). The US not only sought to hide the real reason behind the attack but also the true nature of what took place, to ensure this they enforced “unprecedented press control in Panama where all forms of media were shut down, newspapers, radio and television.”(TheWinds). The invasion of Panama was by no means the first instance of US interference in Panamanian political affairs. Indeed General Noriega was an employee of the CIA before he became the leader of Panama, with full US backing, and he was, in fact, still on the CIA payroll for the first 3 years of his leadership. (Hinson) The US government’s cover-up of their behaviour in this example was, in part, made possible by their control of the US media which “was happy to display the distorted picture which the powerful interests behind the scene dictated.”(TheWinds)

Nicaragua

Over a period of years the US government provided huge financially support for the contras in Nicaragua. The contras were a force officially known as the Nicaraguan Democratic Force who opposed the then government. They used brutal and destructive tactics to disrupt the government and terrorise the people of Nicaragua. The US supported their cause, as they did not like the so-called Marxist policies of the ruling party. The US was accused of altering the outcome of the Nicaraguan election by offering voters $40 for voting for the US backed candidate (WakeUp). The US’s behaviour in Nicaragua was condemned by The World Court who ruled that “the US, by training, arming, equipping, financing and supplying the contra forces…and aiding military and paramilitary activities against Nicaragua, has acted…in breach of its obligation under customary international law not to intervene in the affairs of another state.” (WakeUp) Crucially for our investigation, the US’s behaviour was described by critics as a “blueprint for successful US intervention in the Third World” (WakeUp). This is an extremely significant quote because it highlights the difference between the US tactics in Venezuela and Afghanistan. The US cannot use such extreme measures in Venezuela as it used in Nicaragua and Afghanistan partly, as will be explained later, because Venezuela is not a Third World country

These three examples were intended to show a history of US interference in other countries’ affairs. Numerous other examples of US activity in this area could have been chosen, for example Honduras and El Salvador. Based on this evidence it does not seem at all inconceivable that the US could have intervened in Venezuelan affairs.

Chavez’s policies that meet with US disapproval

President Hugo Chavez

Since his election in 1998 with an unprecedented 57% of the vote President Chavez has continually frustrated the US government with his policies. He has spoken out against the US on a number of crucial issues including free trade and oil. He also maintains a close friendship with the Cuban leader Fidel Castro and has sought to create a stronger allegiance between their countries. Obviously the US government does not wish to see that happen as any such union could prove damaging to US trade interests in the area.

One example of Chavez’s nationalistic stance can be found in his position on the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), a proposal to create the world’s largest trading zone. Chavez claims that the FTAA would only benefit the US and he called on the other countries of the Americas to join forces as “Only united can we break the chains that oppress us.” Chavez claims the FTAA is the latest incarnation of economic "colonialism" and vows to put any deal to a popular vote (Olson). Venezuela’s chief FTAA negotiator Victor Alvarez highlighted the hypocrisy of the US in that “while the Bush Administration was preaching free trade to their dark-skinned compatriots south of the border, the USA itself was facing one of the largest penalties in World Trade Organization history for raising tariffs on steel products”(Palast). These raised tariffs have already closed two steel plants in Venezuela. As usual Chavez does not hold back his feelings on this issue stating that the “FTAA is the path to hell”(Palast). The refusal of Chavez to sign the FTAA agreement is a source of much frustration to the US government.

Chavez has also very much annoyed the US government with his alteration of the Venezuelan policy on oil production and export and Venezuela’s spearheading of OPEC. OPEC (the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries) controls the production of, which ultimately plays a huge role in determining the price of, oil from all its member states. Prior to Chavez, Venezuela “had gained notoriety among OPEC members for habitually exceeding the OPEC production quotas and breaking ranks. This suited Washington as it kept oil prices down.”(Palast2) Now, Chavez has now nearly doubled all royalties that foreign companies have to pay on Venezuelan oil from 16% to 30%. This has seriously hurt the many US companies such as Exxon and Shell that operate in Venezuela. In addition to this Chavez has cut Venezuelan oil production to fall in accordance with OPEC regulations. This has obviously caused an increase in oil prices. Venezuela accounts for near to 15% of all oil imports to the US, making the third largest importer of oil to the US, and therefore, these policy changes have severely impacted the US (Chandrasekhar).

This factor alone separates Venezuela from Afghanistan, as Chavez is aware that the US is reliant on Venezuelan oil. At a recent rally Chavez stated that, “if (the US Government) tried to invade Venezuela or impose a trade blockade against his country, he would shut off Venezuelan oil supplies to the United States.”(Fletcher). Chavez is clearly aware of the power his country commands because of its vast oil resources and appears to be determined to end foreign exploitation of those resources.

As mentioned earlier Chavez has closely allied himself with Cuban leader Fidel Castro. His association with Castro obviously does not meet with US approval. He has given Cuba benefits including agreeing to “allow Cuba to pay for part of its oil imports from Venezuela with goods and services”. Also, Chavez has been quoted as stating that, “Cuba and Venezuela are, in effect, "one team."” He has also described Castro as “one of his closest political allies and personal friends”. (Crespo)

Chavez has also angered the US on many occasions with his open criticism of President Bush and his government. Following September 11th he criticised President Bush’s “you are with us or against us” statement. He also spoke out “against the killing of innocent civilians in Afghanistan in the United States' so-called war on terror” (Crespo). Rather amusingly and perhaps refreshingly Chavez has also been quoted as, calling Bush an “asshole”, Condoleezza Rice “a meddling illiterate” and accusing the US government of “sticking its nose in”(Pipeline).

US Government and media portrayal of Chavez

Obviously the US government keeps a very close eye indeed on the relationship between Castro and Chavez. Certainly if Chavez is as close as reports suggest to Castro then the US could have some reason to be worried however, the media and government does not hesitate to place massive emphasis on this friendship. Reading reports from various US media and government sources one cannot help but notice a familiar pattern of what can only be described as scare tactics designed to instill fear in the US public. The other very obvious instance of the use of these tactics occurred following the September 11th attack with regards to the country of Afghanistan and the entire Middle East region. In that case, as will be explained in the second part of this investigation, the government used the media to create an atmosphere of panic that enabled the US to invade Afghanistan and later Iraq. The media coverage of the events in Venezuela is nothing like that in Afghanistan but nonetheless one can certainly sense a clear stance that various US media sources have taken. One media reports claimed that Chavez is turning his “oil rich country into a base for international terrorism” (Crespo). Another, by US News entitled Terror Close to Home, explained how Chavez’s connection the Castro meant that the US should expect terrorist attacks to be launched from Venezuela. The theme of associating Chavez with terrorism is also common, the Chicago Tribune having accused Chavez of “praising Osama bin Laden.”(Coen), a totally false claim. The reports in the US media on the military coup of April 2002 also revealed a worrying bias. Newsday of Long Island ran the headline “Chavez's Ouster Is No Great Loss”, and even the normally reliable New York Times praised the coup claiming that, “Venezuelan democracy is no longer threatened by a would-be dictator”(Coen). This is not to suggest however that all US media sources are anti-Chavez, the New York Times has run various articles questioning the US policies and behaviour in Venezuela, as has the Washington Post. However, the majority of US news reporting either written or televised emphasises the danger Chavez could present to the US.