Documents Show C.I.A. Knew of a Coup Plot in Venezuela
/The Central Intelligence Agency was aware that dissident military
officers and opposition figures in Venezuela were planning a coup
against President Hugo Chávez in 2002, newly declassified intelligence
documents show. But immediately after the overthrow, the Bush
administration blamed Mr. Chávez, a left-leaning populist, for his own
downfall and denied knowing about the threats. Long irritated by Mr.
Chávez's ties to Fidel Castro and his blistering anti-American attacks,
the Bush administration provided the Venezuelan government in Caracas
with few hard details of the looming plot, although American officials
say they broadly talked to Mr. Chávez about opposition plans. Mr.
Chávez was removed from power on April 12, 2002, after 18 people died
in a spate of gunfire during a huge antigovernment protest. Taken into
custody by dissident military officers, Mr. Chávez was spirited out of
Caracas while an interim government led by Pedro Carmona, a Caracas
businessman, took power. The new government dissolved Congress and the
Supreme Court and hunted down Mr. Chávez's ministers. But Mr. Chávez
returned to power on April 14, riding the crest of a popular uprising
against the coup plotters. [more] and [more]
- CIA - Venezuela Coup Documents [more]
