By Dan Calabrese ——Bio and Archives--September 10, 2018
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After the first meeting, which took place in the fall of 2017, the diplomat reported that the Venezuelans didn’t appear to have a detailed plan and had showed up at the encounter hoping the Americans would offer guidance or ideas, officials said. The former Venezuelan commander said that the rebellious officers never asked for an American military intervention. “I never agreed, nor did they propose, to do a joint operation,” he said. He claimed that he and his comrades considered striking last summer, when the government suspended the powers of the legislature and installed a new national assembly loyal to Mr. Maduro. But he said they aborted the plan, fearing it would lead to bloodshed.
They later planned to take power in March, the former officer said, but that plan leaked. Finally, the dissidents looked to the May 20 election, during which Mr. Maduro was re-elected, as a new target date. But again, word got out and the plotters held their fire. It is unclear how many of these details the coup planners shared with the Americans. But there is no indication that Mr. Maduro knew the mutinous officers were talking to the Americans at all.He knows now, thanks to the New York Times. And if Maduro follows his usual pattern, he will either find out who the plotters were or make assumptions about who they might be, then have them beaten, imprisoned and/or killed. Along with their families. I’m really not sure why communist dictators feel the need to maintain their own secret police to identify those who might threaten their hold on power, when they can just kick back and wait for the New York Times to do it for them. Just because you can publish something doesn’t mean you should. People’s freedom and survival is sometimes on the line. But when that’s less important to you than undermining the current U.S. administration because you don’t like them, then I guess you just go ahead and publish. What do you care? The New York Times is beneath contempt.
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