A letter of Chavez envoy to the U.S.

Chavez's house in Washington DC.

Mr. Bernardo Alvarez Herrera, Chavez's representative in the U.S. has written a letter to the U.S. Senate in reply to the remarks about Venezuela made by Mr. Dennis Blair, Director of U.S. National Security. I comment below on some of Mr. Alvarez assertions:

My comments on a letter by Chavez’s representative to the U.S.

A letter has been sent by Mr. Bernardo Alvarez, the Chavez’s envoy to the U.S., to Senator Dianne Feinstein, as an answer to the comments made about Venezuela by the National Security Director, Mr. Dennis Blair. The letter by Mr. Alvarez deserves a few comments from a Venezuelan citizen who knows what the Venezuelan reality is.

Alvarez. “As in years past, the report is full of politically motivated and cynical accusations against my country”. Readers will have either accept or reject this assertion by Mr. Alvarez, depending on the trust they have on the U.S. National Security Director. I find Mr. Blair’s comments on Venezuela quite objective and, if anything, rather benign in its assessment.
Alvarez. “Let me start by stating that Venezuela is a sovereign country that demands respect for its right to chart its own destiny”. Talking about cynicism, this is a very cynical statement by Mr. Alvarez. Although Venezuelans would like to be sovereign and to chart their own destiny, the reality is that today the Venezuelan government is deeply contaminated by a Castro Cuban invasion, present in highly sensitive Venezuelan bureaucratic levels: intelligence, documentation, police. A “hero” of the Cuban revolution, Mr. Ramiro Valdes, is currently in Venezuela, ostensibly serving as “electricity adviser” to the regime. As Mr. Valdes is no electricity expert but a master on political repression his activity in Venezuela is certain to be of a more sinister nature. There is no doubt that Venezuela is under a dictatorship, as defined by the lack of institutional checks and balances, persecution of dissenters, a one-man rule and a total lack of transparency and accountability in the management of national resources.
Alvarez. “The report states “President Chavez continues to impose an authoritarian populist political model in Venezuela that undermines democratic institutions.”On the contrary, Venezuela is in the process of extending democracy to all of its people. This includes finding a balance between the state and the market that allows us to guarantee the welfare of our people and overcome the historical wrongs of poverty and inequality”. This statement is a lie. Venezuela is in the process of restricting, not extending democracy. The middle-class and large sectors of the poor are being excluded on political considerations. The nation is in political and economic chaos; electricity and water services are collapsing, the oil company is engaged in tasks different from their core business, the military are politicized, crime is rampant and food shortages are evident.
Alvarez. “Over the last decade, Venezuela’s ranking on the UN’s Human Development Index has risen by 10 spots, as levels of poverty have dropped and access to social services increased. In fact, political participation and consciousness in Venezuela have expanded dramatically over the last decade. These advances have occurred within what we call “Socialism of the 21st Century”, a democratic political process centered around fostering the well-being of our people as an alternative to the capitalist model currently in crisis”. Again, Mr. Alvarez lies audaciously. While it is true that the Venezuelan Human Development Index has increased in absolute terms, as it has happened in most of other countries in the middle level range of the HDI, the ranking of Venezuela has gone from position 48 in 1999, when Chavez arrived in power, to position 58 in 2008. What this means is that other countries are developing faster than Venezuela, without the need for a “socialism of the 21st Century”. The creator of this highly nebulous ideological doctrine, Mr. Heinz Dieterich, has just published an article to the effect that Chavez is bound for disaster since he has become more radical while the country lacks governance (see my blog http://www.lasarmasdecoronel.blogspot.com/, for February 6, 2010).
Alvarez. “The report also states that Venezuela has “curtailed free expression and opposition activities by shutting down independent news outlets, harassing and detaining protestors, and threatening opposition leaders with criminal charges for corruption.” Venezuela has not shut down any independent media outlets, but rather has applied relevant laws and regulations to outlets operating in the country, just like any other democracy”. In this respect the strategy of Mr. Chavez has been simple and brutal. He enacts a law or a regulation tailor-made to suit his political objectives and then applies it under the pretense that the victims are “breaking the law”. This has been the case in the closing of RCTV International, a cable station that did not broadcast Chavez’s political harangues. Chavez compulsory media hookups, called “cadenas”, amount to some 2000 hours of broadcasting during his 11 years in power. This is a Guinness record.
Alvarez. “Anti-government protestors continue enjoying their constitutional rights to peaceful assembly. Moreover, many members of the Venezuelan opposition travel freely around the world promoting their political agenda, including to the U.S., and return to Venezuela to exercise the political rights that the 1999 Constitution grants them”. Graphic records about the repression exercised by the Chavez’s National Guard are self-explanatory, including the presence in their hands of a medieval weapon called a “grappling hook”. The harassment of dissenters, both Venezuelan and foreign, when traveling out or into the country is also a matter of record. The rights of opposition leaders are systematically violated, as has been the well-documented case with dozens of popular candidates being “suspended” from running for office by the dishonest Attorney General, Mr. Clodosbaldo Russian.
Alvarez. “Venezuela only recently averted a financial crisis when it took steps to stop a number of banks from threatening the integrity of the country’s financial system. Two people charged in this case were very close to government officials. Both were detained and will stand trial for their crimes”. The truth is that these two persons, Mr. Arne Chacon and Mr. Ricardo Fernandez Berruecos, became instant millionaires (Chacon) and billionaires (Fernandez) under the Chavez regime, before Mr. Chavez’s very nose. In fact, they have been denounced for being members of mafias that include Chavez’s brother Adan, former vice-president Jose V. Rangel, Minister of Public Works Diosdado Cabello and other Chavez favorites. Prison for the two gentlemen mentioned by Mr. Alvarez was just a pre-emptive measure designed to protect the bigger fish.
Alvarez. “The report also claims that President Hugo Chavez, along with his counterparts in sister nations in the region, “are likely to oppose nearly every US policy initiative in the region, including the expansion of free trade, counter drug and counterterrorism cooperation, military training, and security initiatives, and even US assistance programs.” This is totally true. This is so well documented that no further support is necessary. Mr. Blair is right on the mark on this issue. Chavez has spent billions of our money and much effort in the creation of a global anti-U.S. alliance. He has not hidden this objective from anyone, except perhaps, from Mr. Alvarez.
This letter by Chavez’s envoy to the U.S. does not resist the slightest critical examination.


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