Posted on 05/11/2004 6:46:24 PM PDT by shanec
Edited on 07/19/2004 2:14:11 PM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
May 11 (Bloomberg) -- Venezuela has evidence of a plot to assassinate leaders from both the government and opposition groups, Defense Minister Jorge Garcia said.
Garcia didn't say what person or group the government believes is planning the assassinations or what actions the government may take against them.
(Excerpt) Read more at quote.bloomberg.com ...
An acquintance of ours, Robert Alonso, had a plan to bring in some mercenaries. He is a radical anti-Castro Cuban who has lived in Venezuela ever since fleeing Cuba in his mother's arms as a child. We know him because of his opposition activities, and we also know him socially. His mother lives next to mutual friends of ours there and his sister is a Hollywood B-movie actress, Maria Conchita Alonso.
Anyways, Robert was shopping his crazy plan around and no one really gave him the light of day. We personally thought it was harebrained. Even the opposition generals (most all of them, at least) thought so, too. He got the support of a few businessmen -- very few -- and one (only one) Guardia Nacional colonel. (Who the opposition military officers are that are trying to oust the Chavez regime can be seen here at www.militaresdemocraticos.com)
Despite almost everyone else shaking their heads, he went forward with his wild plan. He hired 130 mercenaries in Colombia and brought them into the country. They were young army recruits, fresh out of military service and unemployed.
For the past two months, he kept them on his farm, training them and feeding them while trying to get them some/any weapons. They had none. All they had were some knives, low quality boots and about one hundred counterfeit Venezuelan Army uniforms.
My contacts there kept avoiding him, and so did everyone else. He couldn't get any hardware from anyone, because we all thought his idea was nuts, lots of enthusiasm, but a doomed strategy.
So in the end, unbeknowest to us, around fifty or so of his bravest commenced to raid the armory of a Chavez-held garrison. I have no idea what they were smoking. But this past Sunday, they donned their counterfeit uniforms and set out, un-armed, in two busses to get arms.
On their way, they ran into a roadblock set up by the opposition-friendly local sheriff's office to do a routine check for stolen cars. They called in the also opposition-friendly metro police, who then in turn, unfortunately, called in the Chavez-friendly secret police.
The secret police service had no clue about any of this, but were very surprised to see a full fake platoon appear out of nowhere and assigned to no legitimate commanding officer. So they arrested the kids and then started a big splash in the local news media.
They are claiming that the kids were "paramilitares", in other words, part of Colombia's right wing AUC "auto defensas" anti-guerilla guerillas. This is of course not true. They also claim that they were here to overthrow the Chavez govt. This is technically true. Now, how a bunch of, at best 'reservists', could do this in lousy boots and with no weapons is beyond me... Totally nuts & desperate.
So an 'all points bulletin' was put out on Robert Alonso and he had to go to ground, after this all imploded. He has since gotten safely out of the country, and he arrived yesterday in Miami and has friends getting him re-established there now.
As for his mercenaries, most of them got rounded up. Two of them lost their lives. Some forty others are on the run.
This is not a setback for the true opposition, because Robert Alonso's private little army was never part of the opposition's plans. Everyone I spoke to never counted on him being able to make a difference, tried to rein him in, and as you can tell, he failed because it was ill-concieved and thus no one was willing to give him any support.
By the way, people high up in the Chavez govt publicly claims that this was a US govt or agency project, or in other ways connected to "the empire" as they refer to the States these days. Victoria Alvarado at the embassy in Caracas had to put out a statement to the press refuting this. Fact is, Alonso tried to get any backing he could find, but he was turned down pretty much everywhere he went, including by the military opposition. It's a shame and a waste that he went off half-cocked.
It is a big story down there these days, and this afternoon, it was the subject of a congressional debate.
Regardless, I think the damage he did is now largely under control so they (opposition) can get back to business.
Just wanted to share with you all what really happened there in the last 48 hours.
Never boring...
The people fight him using the rules, while Chavez twists the rules to expand his rule.
Castro can be an irritation but he isn't worth forswearing the US for, especially given the flow on effect for agreements with other nations.
Evidently we have no honor to cheapen if we make pledges to let evil stand.
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