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Newsletter of the Hands Off Venezuela campaign
US gives green light for coup
Defend the Bolivarian revolution
S
peaking on state television
on April 18 in the evening,
Venezuelan President Nico-
las Maduro fired back at the
Trump administration, accusing
it of promoting regime change in
the South American nation.
The U.S. government, the State De-
partment has given the green light,
the approval for a coup process to
intervene in Venezuela, President
Nicolas Maduro said, speaking from
the Miraflores Palace.
Maduro said that security forces
had arrested an armed commando
group sent by the opposition in or-
der to attack the mobilization called
by the right-wing for Wednesday to
generate violence and deaths in the
country. An investigation has been
opened to determine who is behind
the plan.
According to the Venezuelan leader,
who also pointed to a U.S. State De-
partment statement issued Tuesday
evening warning of an internation-
al response should peaceful pro-
tests face repression, the U.S. gov-
ernment wrote up a coup scenario
for opposition leader Julio Borges.
The scenario Maduro referred to
consists in generating violence and
deaths before blaming the Venezu-
elan government for allegedly vio-
lently attacking political opponents.
Then the plot leaders would de-
mand immediate elections, ahead
of Maduros official end of term in
2019.
Maduros statement comes after
weeks of opposition-led anti-gov-
ernment demonstrations calling for
the ouster of the countrys Supreme
Court judges as well as President
Nicolas Maduro. According to re-
ports, among those killed in the
ensuing violence include a 13-year-
old boy who was shot Wednesday
when opposition protesters entered
a social housing complex and an
83-year-old woman who was not
able to receive medical attention
due to opposition roadblocks.
Opposition protesters have van-
dalized various areas in Caracas
www.handsoffvenezuela.org
in recent days causing economic
damage estimated at around 50
billion bolivars, President Maduro
announced Sunday. A high school,
a community health center, various
subsidized food markets and several
government ministries have also re-
portedly been severely affected.
The statements by the US State De-
partment have been accompanied
by similar declarations by the Or-
ganisation of American States gen-
eral secretary Almagro and a group
of 11 Latin American countries led
by Colombia.
Several opposition leaders, includ-
ing National Assembly president Ju-
lio Borges, have made open appeals
to the Armed Forces to intervene in
order to defend the Constitution.
Lets not forget that these opposi-
tion leaders are the same who car-
ried out a coup exactly 15 years ago,
on April 11, 2002, which suppressed
the Bolivarian constitution and dis-
banded all public offices of the state.
Under the disguise of defence of
the Constitution, which the alleged
the government has violated, what
they are really calling for is for the
Armed Forces to remove President
Maduro.
The aim of the statements by the
United States, the OAS general sere-
tary and others is clear: to put pres-
sure on the Venezuelan government
and encourage violent opposition
protests which could then lead to
the intervention of the Army: a mili-
tary coup.
The overthrow of the Bolivarian
government by the so-called dem-
ocratic opposition would lead to an
all out assault on all the conquests of
the Venezuelan revolution.
We have already seen the Macri
government in Argentina and the
Temer government in Brazil launch
massive assaults against the work-
ers and the poor, with mass lay offs,
counter reforms of labour laws and
regulations, privatisations, attacks
on pension rights, etc.
In Venezuela it would be even
worse. If the opposition were to take
April 2017
the presidents office they would im- one that it should take in the future.
mediately move to introduce mas- This debate is taking place within
sive cuts in public spending, partic- the ranks of the Bolivarian move-
ularly on health care and education. ment, where many are highly criti-
They would move to privatise all the cal.
utilities which were re-nationalised Our first task is to defend the Boli-
by President Chavez, they would varian revolution from the current
return exprorpiated landed estates
assault it is facing, otherwise all
to their former owners, they would
its conquests, and there are many,
privatise the over a million homes
will be destroyed. This we can do
the government has built for people
through international solidarity
in need, etc.
and also by advancing and
For all these reasons it is our elemen- redou- bling our own
tary duty of international solidarity strug- gles.
to defend the Bolivarian revolution
against the attacks of imperialism
and the right wing oligarchy in Ven-
ezuela. We stand by the Venezuelan
workers and poor who have been
the motor force of the Bolivarian
revolution for nearly 20 years. Their
victories are also ours, their defeat
would also be a defeat for our side.
Venezuela is currently facing a seri-
ous economic crisis, mainly driven
by the sudden collapse of oil prices
(which at its peak reached 120 dol-
lars a barrel and then col-
lapsed to a low of around
30 dollars a barrel in
2016). This has severe-
ly limited the ability
of the government
to carry out social
policies and led to a
whole series of dis-
torsions in the econ-
omy which have hit
mainly the workers
and the poor, the
social basis of the
revolution.
There is a debate
to be had
about the
m easures
which the
g ove r n -
m e n t
has tak-
en in
f acing
t h i s
crisis
a n d
t h e
Venezuela Rejects Interventionist Statement
by US Southern Command Chief
such declarations are being
made in this moment, when a fe-
rocious international attack is be-
ing carried out against Venezuela
through the General Secretary
of the OAS and a cohort of coun-
tries allied to the US government,
which undoubtedly form part of
the same plan under develop-
ment to dominate our people.
We alert the international com-
munity to the plan which is un-
The Bolivarian Republic of Ven-
ezuela rejects this latest act of
interference, which is against the
principle of the self-determina-
tion of the people, and ratifies its
unshakeable commitment to the
institutions of the Bolivarian Re-
public to defend its liberty, sover-
eignty and the independence of
the nation, as part of the historic
legacy of our liberators.
Caracas, April 7th, 2017

T
he Bolivarian Republic of
Venezuela categorically
rejects and protests the
comments expressed by
Admiral Kurt Tidd, commander
of the United States South-
ern Command, which lay the
groundwork for an attack on
Venezuela under the aegis of
the false doctrine of collective
regional security.
On Thursday, April 6 2017, Admi-
ral Kurt Tidd declared that:
The growing humanitarian crisis
in Venezuela could eventually
compel a regional response. This
affirmation, aimed at creating
uncertainty and instability in the
country, is framed within the in-
terventionist order of a group of
governments that are harassing
and relentlessly hounding Vene-
zuela through the construction of
false assumptions accompanied
by operations in the media and
fraudulent processes within the
framework of the Organization of
American States (OAS).
This is nothing new. This is exact-
ly the same script that has been
repeated by the spokespeople
and regional executioners of the
interventionist plan against Ven-
ezuela to justify their avaricious
ambitions with regards to our re-
sources, seriously threatening the
peace of our homeland.
Just as his predecessor John Kelly,
who at the end of 2015 voiced
false opinions about the politi-
cal, economic and social situation
of the country, which without a
doubt formed part of the well-
known script for interference
and provocation to justify, in the
name of humanitarian reasons
and the subterfuge of a regional
response, a future military inter-
vention in our territory whose
real objective is simply to over-
throw the legitimately elected
government.
It is particularly worrying that
derway to undermine the sov-
ereignty and territorial integrity BOLIVARIAN REPUBLIC OF
VENEZUELA, MINISTRIES OF
of Venezuela, contravening the
United Nations Charter and its PEOPLES POWER FOR FOR-
principles and aims. This is a call EIGN RELATIONS AND DE-
to the peoples of Our America in
FENSE
the face of these serious occur-
rences against our country.
Some achievements of the Bolivarian Revolution
Free university education expanded from 800,000 students
in 1998 to 2.6 million in 2013
Poverty reduced from 48% to 27%, extreme poverty down
from 22% to 10%
Illiteracy eradicated in 2005, when 1.5 million learnt to read
and write
19 democratic elections held, 18 of which were won by the
Bolivarian revolution
Malnourishment reduced from 21% to 5%
Privatised utilities and state enterprises renationalised
Beneficiaries of old age pensions increased from 380,000 to
2.1 million
Number of doctors per 10,000 inhabitants increased from 18
to 58
Trade Union and Labour rights strengthened

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