Go home, gringo

Go home, gringo


http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/sep/12/bolivia.venezuela

Bolivia and Venezuela's expulsion of their US ambassadors exposes yet another faultline in north American foreign policy

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Richard Gott
guardian.co.uk,
Friday September 12 2008 17:03 BST
On the 35th anniversary of the military overthrow of Salvador Allende in Chile on September 11, 1973, which had the overt support of the United States, the presidents of Bolivia and Venezuela have asked the US ambassadors accredited to their countries to leave.

They both believe they are facing the possibility of an imminent coup d'etat in which they accuse the Americans of being involved. A third country, Paraguay, announced 10 days ago that it had detected a conspiracy involving military officers and opposition politicians. Latin America now faces its most serious crisis since the re-introduction of democratic practice at the end of the last century.

Brazil and Argentina have both denounced the violent activities of opposition groups in Bolivia that have led to the closure of the natural gas pipelines to their countries, while President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela has warned that a coup against Evo Morales of Bolivia would be seen as a "green light" for an armed insurgency in that country.

Giving details of a planned coup in his own country, in which retired military officers and opposition figures were involved, Chávez announced the expulsion of the US ambassador, Patrick Duddy, and the withdrawal of his own ambassador from Washington. Any aggression against Venezuela, Chávez said, would involve a halt in the supply of Venezuelan oil to the United States.

Chávez's decision came one day after President Morales had thrown out the US ambassador in La Paz, Philip Goldberg, who has been frequently accused by the Bolivian government of plotting with the separatist politicians in the eastern province of Santa Cruz.

The situation in Bolivia is immediately more dramatic than in Venezuela, although both countries are facing important electoral battles at the end of the year.

Evo Morales, an indigenous politician from the Andes in the west of the country, has organised a referendum on a new constitution to which the rightwing (and white racist) politicians in the eastern lowlands are bitterly opposed. The atmosphere of violence has now broken into the open, with endless political demonstrations and several deaths, the seizure of provincial airports, and sabotage of the oil and gas installations on which the country's economy depends. Morales has accused the regional governors of the five eastern regions of creating the conditions for a coup.

Chávez originally announced his decision to expel the US ambassador from Caracas as an act of solidarity with Morales – "so that Bolivia is not alone". But it was soon clear that he had his own possible coup d'etat to deal with. A tape recording of phone conversations between retired military officers, some of whom were involved in the failed coup of April 2002, was broadcast on Venezuelan television on Wednesday night, revealing plans to seize the Miraflores presidential palace and to capture or shoot down the presidential plane.

The suggestion that there were plans to assassinate the president brought large crowds down from the shanty towns on Thursday night to demonstrate their solidarity with Chávez. Several of the alleged conspirators have been detained. Venezuela, like Bolivia, has an uncertain pre-election climate, since there will be regional and municipal elections in November that will be viewed as a judgment on the popularity of the president.

The possible coup in Paraguay appears less serious, since it only appeared to involve preliminary discussions between retired General Lino Oviedo, an old hand at failed coups, and a serving officer. Yet since the government of the left-wing former bishop, Fernando Lugo, has only been in power since August, tales of a possible coup have reverberated through the continent. Brazil declared pointedly that it would not tolerate a coup in Bolivia "or in any other Latin American country".

The US is, of course, preoccupied with Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, but whichever presidential candidate takes over in January will also find Latin America at the top of his in-tray.



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Venezuela, Bolivia Expel US Ambassadors, US Responds

Venezuela, Bolivia Expel US Ambassadors, US Responds
Readers Number : 76



12/09/2008 Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez expelled the US envoy to Caracas late Thursday and threatened to halt crude exports to the United States on a day he highlighted the recent arrival of two Russian Tu-160 strategic bombers.
Chavez on Thursday ordered US ambassador Patrick Duddy to leave the country within 72 hours, in a move he described as an act of solidarity with Venezuela's ally Bolivia, which also expelled its US envoy.
"If there is any aggression towards Venezuela" from Washington, "there would be no oil for the people of the United States," said
Chavez.

President Evo Morales on Wednesday accused Ambassador Philip Goldbergof contributing to divisions in the country which the government warned was headed towards "civil war."

Also Thursday Chavez announced that his government had uncovered a coup plot hatched by active and retired military officers, which he said had tacit US approval.
A military prosecutor said two officers -- retired general Wilfredo Barroso and retired major Elimides Labarca Soto -- will be tried for incitement to rebellion, a charge punishable by five to 10 years in prison.

The United States for its part, responded by ordering the expulsion of Bolivia's envoy to Washington.
"In response to unwarranted action and in accordance with the
Vienna Convention, we have officially informed the government of
Bolivia of our decision to declare Ambassador Gustavo Guzman persona non grata," said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.

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Honduras Snubs US Envoy as US-LatAm Row Spreads
Readers Number : 61



13/09/2008 Honduran President Manuel Zelaya on Friday refused to accept the credentials of the new US ambassador to show solidarity with Bolivia and Venezuela in a spreading regional diplomatic showdown with Washington.
"We believe that ... in the defense of the principles of solidarity of countries, we should be supportive with Bolivia's current problem and present a protest voice to the nations of the world," Zelaya told a news conference in announcing the postponement of ceremonies for the new US envoy.

A conflict in Bolivia between backers of President Evo Morales
and US-backed anti-government protesters sparked a tit-for-tat diplomatic row after Morales on Wednesday ordered the US ambassador to La Paz to leave, accusing him of contributing to divisions in the country.

Zelaya's solidarity move followed the example of leftist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who expelled the US ambassador to Caracas on Thursday.

The United States fired back by ordering the Bolivian and Venezuelan ambassadors to leave Washington.
The US ambassador to Honduras, Hugo Llorens, had been due to be formally sworn in on Friday afternoon.