Editor's Note: Imagine a band of tyrants planning a coup against a democratically-elected government, executing the coup, kidnapping the president of the country and taking him to prison, dissolving the constitution and installing their own man as president. The people rise up, crush the coup and bring their president back - all in 47 hours. Got it? Ok, now imagine this - 10 years later the same people who executed the coup have never spent a day in jail, are living and walking about freely. It gets better - some of the same people involved in the coup (opposition) are now elected members of congress and continue to oppose the government 4-square. Add to that - one of the leaders of the coup in 2002 is now the front-running opposition candidate in the 2012 presidential elections. (See the second article below).

Today, on the 10th anniversary of the restoration of democracy in Venezuela, the names of those participants in the 2002 coup who now sit in congress were read aloud to all members of the National Assembly. You can be the judge of what all this has say about democracy in Venezuela.

- Les Blough in Venezuela

President of National Assembly:

“It is Imperative to Remember the Events that Gave Rise to the Coup d’état in 2002”

The President of the National Assembly, Diosdado Cabello, said that the government and the people of Venezuela have an obligation each year to remember the events that gave rise to the coup d’état perpetrated by the right-wing in Venezuela in April 2002.

In an ordinary session held Tuesday at the legislature in Caracas, to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the coup of April 2002, the lawmaker said that Venezuela’s full future is guaranteed only by the elected President of the Republic, Hugo Chávez.

Cabello stressed that the events of the coup against the constitutional mandate of President Chávez will be remembered by the legislative branch each year, with or without the support of the opposition.

Venezuela’s legislature currently includes several representatives that were involved in the coup, during which the president was kidnapped and government institutions dissolved for a short time until Venezuelans took to the streets to demand the return to power of the democratically elected leader.

Find out about our events to remember the restoration of democracy in Venezuela in 2002 in this special section:

AVN / Press – Venezuelan Embassy to the U.S. / April 11, 2012

On Tuesday
National Assembly Hosts Special Session to Celebrate 2002 Rescue of Democracy

On Tuesday, lawmakers in Venezuela’s National Assembly will hold a special session to commemorate the events of April 11, 12 and 13 in 2002 in the capital city of Caracas, announced Congressman Darío Vivas during an interview broadcast by state television.

Vivas said that National Assembly President Diosdado Cabello will present some of the names of those who participated in the April 2002 coup d’état.

“The names of some of the opposition characters who deny having participated in the April events will be presented,” he highlighted.

Some of the current right-wing opposition leaders played key roles during the coup d’état, Vivas said: “they chased journalists, political leaders, promoted chaos in embassies and television stations like Venezolana de Televisión.”

On April 11, 2002, the right-wing opposition orchestrated a coup d’état against the government of President Hugo Chávez, supported by privately-owned media outlets. This assault on democracy, during which the Venezuelan president was kidnapped and government institutions were annulled, was short-lived due to the fact that Venezuelans took the streets to demand the restitution of the democratically elected president, Hugo Chávez. Likewise, patriotic military officers rescued the head of state and brought him back to the presidential palace.

This week, the Venezuelan government and its diplomatic missions abroad will host a series of activities, including conferences and concerts, to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the civil-military uprising that overturned the coup d’état against President Hugo Chávez.

In Venezuela, this April 12, grassroots movements will go the Embassy of Cuba in Caracas to remember the occupation of this diplomatic mission by pro-coup forces led by the current opposition presidential candidate Henrique Capriles Radonski.

The Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to the U.S. will screen the documentary “Llaguno Bridge: Keys to a Massacre” on Friday, April 13, at the Bolivarian Hall, the cultural space of the diplomatic mission in Washington. For further information, click here.

VTV / Press Office – Venezuelan Embassy to the U.S. / April 9, 2012