AlterNet: U.S. Intervening Against Democracy in Venezuela

"Where are they getting their money?"

For two weeks during this country's business-led strike, the privately owned stations that dominate Venezuelan television have been running opposition "infomercials" instead of advertisements, in addition to what is often non-stop coverage of opposition protests.

This is similar to Nicaragua during the Reagan years, the US called Sadinista's communists and funded terrorists against the government while funneling money to the newspaper which called for it's government's overthrow. What countries in the world allow the media to call for it's overthrow? Democratic one's which the US intelligence comunity is trying to overthrow.

Prior to the coup on April 11, the U.S. National Endowment for Democracy stepped up its funding to opposition groups, including money funneled through the International Republican Institute. The latter's funding multiplied more than sixfold, to $340,000 in 2001.

But if history is any guide, overt funding from Washington will turn out to be the tip of the iceberg. This was the case in Haiti, Nicaragua, Chile and other countries where Washington has sought "regime change" because our leaders didn't agree with the voters' choice at the polls. (In fact, Washington is currently aiding efforts to oust President Aristide in Haiti – for the second time). In these episodes, which extended into the 1990s, our government concealed amounts up to the hundreds of millions of dollars that paid for such things as death squads, strikes, economic destabilization, electoral campaigns and media.

Meanwhile, outside of the wealthier areas of eastern Caracas, businesses are open and streets are crowded with shoppers. Life appears normal. This is clearly a national strike of the privileged, and most of the country has not joined it.

More than anything right now, this country needs dialogue and a ratcheting down of the tensions and hostilities between the two opposing camps, so as to avoid a civil war. But this dialogue will never happen if the United States continues to pursue a course of increasing confrontation.

The propaganda campaign also continues in our nation's mass media and pundit columns. Here Narco News tracks the AP spin. There has been earlier commentary on how the source for most of America's newspapers is the AP which has a corporate Republican bias when it is not being directly used to frame a story. Of course, for the real spin job see NewsMax on the "Pro-Democracy protests" by the elite against a democraticly elected president.