Venezuela eyes U.S. military on Curacao

[RPankn]

[Syria, Iran or Venezuela, the U.S.-Israel axis will start WWIII.]

Monday, February 28, 2005 Posted: 1753 GMT (0153 HKT)

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Venezuela's navy is taking a close look at the American military presence on the nearby island of Curacao to determine the intention of U.S. operations there, Venezuela's navy commander said Monday.

Navy Cmdr. Armando Laguna said the Venezuelan navy was "taking precautions" as it observes the presence of U.S. Marines, along with military planes and amphibious vehicles on the Caribbean island. He did not provide details regarding what measures the navy was taking.

Laguna told the state-run television channel the navy "detected a series of (military) units" on the island, located roughly 46 miles (75 kilometers) northeast of Venezuela's Paraguana Peninsula.

"We took precautions to determine what the intention is," said Laguna, adding that the U.S. Navy often carries out exercises in southern Caribbean but failed to notify Venezuela's military on this occasion.

There was no immediate comment from the U.S. Embassy in Caracas.

Tensions between Caracas and Washington have increased in recent weeks due to accusations by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez that the United States is trying to isolate Venezuela from its Latin American neighbors by attempting to portray him as a tyrant and a threat to the region.

Officials in Washington have rejected accusations that George. W. Bush's administration is seeking to isolate Venezuela, the world's fifth largest oil exporter and a major fuel supplier to the United States.

Last week, Venezuela's top diplomat took Chavez's allegations against the United States to the Organization of American States, indirectly accusing Washington of repeatedly violating Venezuelan sovereignty.

Without mentioning the United States by name, Foreign Minister Ali Rodriguez Araque said his government's intelligence agencies have evidence suggesting an attempt to "physically liquidate" left-leaning Chavez.

Chavez and Cuban President Fidel Castro have both accused the United States of trying to assassinate the Venezuelan leader, who has repeatedly criticized Washington of hegemony in world affairs -- accusations that the U.S. State Department calls ridiculous.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.


edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/americas/02/28/venezuela.us.curacao.ap/

[Moses]

www.venezuelanalysis.com/news.php?newsno=1525

Nobel Laureate Warns of US Interventionism in Venezuela[/size]

Monday, Feb 28, 2005 Print format
 <br>
By: Jonah Gindin – Venezuelanalysis.com

Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel of Argentina.
Credit: RNV archive

Caracas, February 28, 2005— In an interview with Colombian radio last weekend, Nobel Laureate Adolfo Pérez Esquivel warned that the United States is seeking to overthrow Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.  <br>
Speaking to Bogotá’s Caracol radio, the Argentinean human rights activist alleged that the Venezuelan government is a “victim” of Washington and suggested that Chávez’s accusations that the US is trying to assassinate him are “probable.”<br>
In 1980 Pérez Esquivel won the Nobel Peace Prize for his human rights work against the military dictatorship in his home of Argentina.

“The United States is committing grave errors,” said the Nobel Laureate.  “First, in attacking Iraq and Afghanistan, and second, in trying to oust President Hugo Chávez, a government that was constitutionally elected by the people,” he added.

According to Esquivel, the possibility of an attempt on the Venezuelan President’s life cannot be dismissed, since “this wouldn’t be the first time the White House tried something like this.”  “This is a distinct possibility,” said Esquivel, “since we have seen that the current US government will stop at nothing, for no one.”

Esquivel noted that the US’ military presence in the region is not only in Plan Colombia, the anti-narcotics military aid to Colombia, but also in Plan Pueblo Panama, and the Manta military base in Ecuador, forming a “triple frontier” designed to sharpen the assault on Venezuela.  Plan Pueblo Panama is a privatization scheme that, according to the US, will industrialize Central America from Pueblo, Mexico to Panama.  The military base at Manta is one of the US’ three “Forward Operating Locations” (FOL) meant to replace the Howard Air Force Base in Panama, closed in 1999 (the other two FOLs are in El Salvador and the Dutch Antilles-Aruba-Curaçao).

Esquivel also cautioned that the Organization of American States (OAS) could be manipulated to serve US foreign policy objectives, and argued that if this happens the organization should be dissolved.

“If these things are permitted, if the OAS is manipulated for military intervention,” said Esquivel, “this organization should disappear or be transformed, since its stated function is to democratize and not to be at the service of a great power.”

Esquivel cited a recent report in Colombian daily El Tiempo, which claimed that Washington has begun pushing for changes in the OAS charter that would facilitate the isolation of and intervention in countries perceived by the US to be undemocratic.

“The idea, according to sources consulted by El Tiempo,” said Esquivel, “is to modify the Democratic Charter of the organization in the next general assembly of the 34 member countries,” to be held next June in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

---

With reports from Radio Caracol and Radio Nacional de Venezuela

[Moses]

Published: Monday, February 28, 2005
Bylined to: José Luis Carpiro


Colombia reinforces aerial and maritime surveillance along the Gulf of Venezuela

The Colombian government’s two faces undergo a metamorphosis and advances systematically to provoking a diplomatic incident intended to trigger a high intensity conflict with Venezuela.


José Luis Carpiro

(Translated by Iris Buehler)

The tactic employed by the Colombian government consists of bolstering a new border conflict in international waters of the Caribbean Sea within Venezuelan jurisdiction.

The strategy is seen as coinciding with negotiations on the Gulf’'s border dispute the two nations in March. Colombian Defense Minister Jorge Uribe is not on his own in this combat mission. The USA are prepared to assist with US aircraft carriers and destroyers lying at anchor in the Caribbean Sea, with the military bases established in Vieques (Puerto Rico), Reina Beatriz (Aruba), Hato (Curacao) and Guantanamo (Cuba).

The analysts of Spain’s strategic centers on issues concerning Hispanic America’s security and defense agree that North America seeks high-level justification to invade Venezuela, and it will get to its objective at all costs. Parting from their work, we’ll try to reveal the patterns set up to assure that the objective will be achieved.

Over the last months, day and night, the Colombian Armed Forces have redoubled their aerial and maritime surveillance and control operations along the Venezuelan Gulf borders and the 'Exclusive Economic Zone' that are under Colombia’s jurisdiction ... ranging from Castilletes in the “Coquivacoa Gulf” to the confluence of the Rio Mataje in Nariño, encompassing the coastal line up to the limits defined by international treaties determining the extensive Colombian sovereignty in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean.

The operations are realized by the Naval Air Force with support of two spy and maritime patrol aircrafts, sold in 2003 to Colombia by Spain’s ex-President, Jose Maria Aznar. These aircrafts, model CN-235, were constructed by Spanish EADS-CASA ... the same that took part in the fabrication of the Air Bus A-380, the biggest air plane constructed in world aviation history.

The European Aeronautics Defense & Space Company (EADS) describes these patrol aircrafts (“CN-235 Persuader”) as very sophisticated and versatile, as a high-wing, pressurized twin turbo-prop tactical transport aircraft system capable of operating from short, unpaved runways to be employed in missions of tactical ground reconnaissance and maritime surveillance operations, anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-surface warfare (ASuW), electronic warfare (EW), airborne early warning (AEW), search & rescue, intelligence and maritime interdiction.


The maritime patrol aircraft counts on a radar for ground reconnaissance, and an infrared detection system (forward looking infrared, FLIR), both systems incorporated into a tactical operation console. The FLIR system also contains a TV camera and day vision system. In addition, it provides advantages through its large cargo section, integrated last generation combat aircraft engine, in-flight operable rear ramp, aerodynamic qualities, and capacity to drop signal rockets.

One of the arguments brought up by Colombian authorities for purchasing aircraft for strategic employment is the internal conflict against the guerrilla and the struggle against narco-trafficking. Security and defense politics, however, sent them to other destinies in international waters for maritime reconnaissance and surveillance, signals intelligence, which includes interception of signals of Venezuelan aircraft and ships patrolling the maritime border at Los Monjes, situated 19 miles from the Guajira peninsula.

Colombian Air Force purchasing Combat Aircraft

After Hugo Chavez came to power, relations between Colombia and Venezuela tensed up in various occasions through verbal exchanges and positions taken contrary to the Colombian government’s expectations with regard to different topics. The war of microphones became history through actions carried out in situ, and forceful acts as response to a neighbor accused of protecting guerrillas, being a friend of Fidel Castro, and destabilizing Latin American governments.

The compelling acts are being performed in reply to Hugo Chavez government’s planned purchasing of MIG aircraft and Kalashnikov rifles from Russia and frigates from Spain.

* In striking way, Uribe advanced the purchasing of 24 tactical combat aircrafts for Colombia’s national defense, missions of aerial space control, aerial-ground attack, armed surveillance and reconnaissance.

The project has a cost of 234.56 million dollars and was approved by the Inter-parliamentary Commission on Public Expenditure (Comisión Interparlamentaria de Crédito Público) past September 9, 2004, and by the Consejo Superior de Política Fiscal (Confis).

Contributions and donations conceded by the USA through Plan Colombia don’t satisfy the aerial and operative needs of the weakened Colombian Air Force (Fuerzas Armadas de Colombia, FAC). Concerning the fighter aircraft system, Venezuela and other Andean nations like Peru own a major aerial potential with the F-16, MIG-21 and Mirage aircraft systems. A report by the Colombian Air Force handed over to various aircraft manufacturing companies mentions grave deficiencies of planes run more than 30 years like the K-FIRK-C2 constructed by the Israeli Aircraft Industries, Bronco OV-10 (Rockwell International, EUA), MIRAGE M-5 COA (Marcel Dassault of France), and Dragon Fly A-37 (EUA) which make their operation and maintenance more difficult.

With the currently available aircraft, the FAC doesn’t have the capacity to sufficiently cover Colombian territory for the internal combats all along their extensive geography.


“New types of aircraft are required, coming from their original manufacturer, with modern, multi-use technology, with an integrated armament system and special operational equipment, with all its systems and sub-systems properly tested, certified and in optimum state for aviation.”

“Likewise, it is necessary to acquire a package of replacement parts, special equipment and tools for the operation of such aircraft, as well as the technical manuals, equipment for instruction, training and qualification of the crews and technical maintenance personnel,” the report mentions.

The fifteen Bronco OV-10 aircrafts, constructed by the US Naval Force in 1966 have been donated to Colombia in 1991. The life-span of the planes is 25 years and the current average life-span is 38 years and of 12.700 flight hours.

Colombia and USA preparing joint military exercises

In July this year, the US’ and Colombia’s Navy (Colombia as hosting country) are preparing joint military exercises ... “Unitas 2005” ... for the struggle against terrorism (in the Caribbean) and narco-trafficking. Canada, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, and Peru are participating in these operations.

The preparatory strategy of “Unitas” is being organized by the Commander of the US SouthCom’s Naval Forces, rear-admiral Vicente Smith, and the chief of the Colombian Armed Forces, vice-admiral Guillermo Barrera. The scenarios foreseen shall be the Caribbean Sea (maritime border with Venezuela) and the Pacific Ocean with practices of anti-aerial, electronic and communication warfare.

* Operation Unitas was established in 1959 by the SouthCom and the US Coastguard, together with other US agencies to realize bilateral and multilateral exercises.

Some analysts consider that these joint US-Latin American military exercises are aimed at achieving the strategic objective of ideologically “de-nationalizing” the military of the various Latin American countries, and to drill them in accordance with the doctrines generated by the White House.

---

Colombia reforzó vigilancia aérea y marítima sobre límites del Golfo de Venezuela