Reply #8: You may have read about Venezuelan officials going to visit Otto Reich

[Judi Lynn]

in the State Department months before the coup:

Months before the coup d’etat that briefly removed Chavez from power in April 11, 2002, U.S. officials met in Washington with a delegation of the Venezuelan opposition movement. Although some evidence exists linking the U.S. government to the coup, U.S. officials denied any involvement. After The New York Times reported Washington’s meetings with Venezuelan opposition leaders and military officers prior to the coup, U.S. officials acknowledged them but deny providing any support for non-constitutional ways of removing Chavez from office. Pedro Carmona, who became a dictator after Chavez was removed from office, was among the opposition leaders who met with U.S. officials before the coup.
(snip/...)

http://www.independent-media.tv/item.cfm?fmedia_id=5549&fcategory_desc=Venezuela

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From the Guardian:

1) American Navy 'Helped Venezuelan Coup'
by Duncan Campbell in Los Angeles
The Guardian ; April 29, 2002
The United States had been considering a coup to overthrow the elected Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez, since last June, a former US intelligence officer claimed yesterday.
It is also alleged that the US navy aided the abortive coup which took place in Venezuela on April 11 with intelligence from its vessels in the Caribbean. Evidence is also emerging of US financial backing for key participants in the coup.
(snip)

Wayne Madsen, a former intelligence officer with the US navy, told the Guardian yesterday that American military attaches had been in touch with members of the Venezuelan military to examine the possibility of a coup.
(snip)

He said that the navy was in the area for operations unconnected to the coup, but that he understood they had assisted with signals intelligence as the coup was played out.
Mr Madsen also said that the navy helped with communications jamming support to the Venezuelan military, focusing on communications to and from the diplomatic missions in Caracas belonging to Cuba, Libya, Iran and Iraq - the four countries which had expressed support for Mr Chavez.
Navy vessels on a training exercise in the area were supposedly put on stand-by in case evacuation of US citizens in Venezuela was required.
In Caracas, a congressman has accused the US ambassador to Venezuela, Charles Shapiro, and two US embassy military attaches of involvement in the coup.
Roger Rondon claimed that the military officers, whom he named as (James) Rogers and (Ronald) MacCammon, had been at the Fuerte Tiuna military headquarters with the coup leaders during the night of April 11-12.And referring to Mr Shapiro, Mr Rondon said: "We saw him leaving Miraflores palace, all smiles and embraces, with the dictator Pedro Carmona Estanga ... satisfaction was obvious. Shapiro's participation in the coup d'état in Venezuela is evident."
(snip/...)

http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/South_America/US_Coup_Venezuela.html



wretched coup-President-hugging ambassador Charles Shapiro