The arrests of Colombian paramilitares on the territory of Venezuela are not seen as anything sensational. There are more and more cases like that. And nobody asks why the fighters are methodically infiltrating the country, cleverly disguised as seasonal workers or tourists. They are being used by the enemies of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela as part of a wide-reaching conspiracy, coordinated by U.S. and NATO intelligence agencies, to overthrow the lawfully elected authorities.
Earlier the paramilitares fought in the ranks of the AUC (Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia, the United Self Defense Forces of Colombia), created by Colombian military intelligence to combat the leftist-Marxist partisan groups FARC and ELN. The formal 'disarmament' of the AUC in Colombia did not lead to their full demobilization. Now they are used to fight against 'populist' regimes. A significant number of the subdivisions of the AUC were 'redirected' by the CIA field station and advisors of the U.S. military mission to specific assignments for destabilizing Venezuela. In June alone in the states of Tachira and Portuguesa, two groups of paramilitares whose leaders were well known in Colombia for their bloody exploits were captured. An active search for a third group operating in Caracas is underway. Information about other armed cells of the AUC operating in the country has been coming in. As Venezuelan Minister of Internal Affairs Miguel Rodriguez Torres has stated, the investigation has shown that the paramilitares had maintained connections with the ultra-right-wing circles of the Venezuelan opposition and were preparing an attempt against President Nicolas Maduro. The confiscated explosives; firearms, including a Bushmaster rifle with a telescopic sight; dozens of cases of cartridges; grenades and Venezuelan military uniforms are direct proof of this.
Similar events had taken place previously in Venezuela in 2004, when law enforcement agents arrested 150 paramilitares in the vicinity of Caracas who had infiltrated the country to attack the presidential palace, kill Hugo Chavez and fake a military 'uprising' in order to make it easier for the radical opposition to seize power. Currently the domestic and foreign conspirators are focusing on fomenting dissatisfaction among the populace through an artificial shortage of staple commodities by hiding them in secret stockpiles or smuggling them to neighboring countries, mostly to Colombia. As before, the Venezuelan media is blowing such topics as 'rampant crime' and 'the inability of the Nicolas Maduro government to deal with it' out of proportion. In particular, falsified 'murder statistics' are used for this purpose. The numerous instances of the involvement of professional Colombian killers in murders in Venezuela's border states are covered up. According to the evaluations of Venezuelan police and counterintelligence agencies, terrorist acts of this kind in Caracas and other large cities are encouraged by U.S. intelligence.
The 'fifth column' has been especially active in the oil state of Zulia, which is traditionally considered 'separatist'. In recent years the CIA and U.S. military intelligence field stations in Colombia have been implementing measures to reinforce 'centrifugal tendencies' in the state, spur on conflicts between the local elite and the central authorities, and promote the idea that the 'Republic of Zulia' would have a higher standard of living as an independent state among the 'masses'. The sabotage in Zulia has really become quite alarming. President Maduro has met several times recently with the state's governor, Francisco Arias, to discuss measures to stop the smuggling of gasoline and food products and establish uninterrupted energy delivery, which is extremely important for the hottest region of the country.
The further destabilization of Venezuela's border states and the growth of the radical opposition's protest demonstrations in Caracas are meant to become a pretext for the United States' direct interference in the country's internal affairs. The necessary supporting infrastructure has already been created along the perimeters of Venezuela's borders. U.S. pilots have already become very familiar with the theater of future operations in joint Colombian-American training exercises. Recently photographs of the contrails of fighter planes which were practicing attacks in the direction of Venezuela from Colombia were published on the site Aporrea.org. In several cases American intelligence has used unmanned aircraft for 'tactical probes/ of Venezuelan territory and to seek the location of mythical guerrilla camps.
The well-known Venezuelan journalist Jose Vicente Rangel has stated that the opposition plans to acquire fighter planes which will be used for an armed seizure of power. In late May representatives of the 'irreconcilable opposition', including former directors of the state oil company PDVSA, held negotiations on this issue in San Antonio, Texas with members of the board of directors of an airplane manufacturer and signed a contract for the delivery of the planes no later than November of this year. Rangel noted that the airplanes will be kept at a U.S. base in Colombia and used in attacks planned against Venezuela using mercenaries.
On the backdrop of the intensifying anti-Bolivarian campaign, Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos met for over an hour with Venezuelan ex-presidential candidate Henrique Capriles. It is well known that Capriles refused to accept the election results and called for his supporters to hold active protests, as a result of which fifteen Bolivarians were killed. The antagonism of Santos' position is more than obvious to Caracas. Reportedly, the Colombian leader agreed to the meeting with Capriles on the recommendation of Washington, which through vice president Joe Biden promised generous 'compensation' to Santos, including increased collaboration between Colombia and NATO. Santos received this promise with unreasonable optimism for such an experienced politician and announced that soon negotiations for Colombia to join NATO will begin:
'In June, NATO will sign an agreement with the Colombian government, with the Defense Ministry, to start a process of rapprochement and cooperation, with an eye toward also joining that organization.'
The protests were immediate. The member countries of ALBA (the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America) objected to these plans of the Colombian oligarchs and military clique, which could lead to upheaval for the entire region, with one voice. NATO is the instrument of imperialist expansion. To throw the doors open to this organization is a crime. One need only list the countries which have been subjected to 'democratizing bombings' by NATO, from Yugoslavia to Syria, and remember the millions of victims and monstrous destruction in Europe, Asia and Africa in order to understand the full force of the indignation that swept through Latin America. NATO representatives in Brussels diplomatically repudiated Santos' words:
'We remember the services of Colombian special forces in operations on the territory of Afghanistan, but for formal reasons, due to the geographical location of Colombia, which is not adjacent to the North Atlantic region, full membership in the alliance is not possible.'
The leadership of Colombia was forced to adjust its position. Minister of Defense Juan Carlos Pinson emphasized that Colombia only plans to follow the example of New Zealand, Australia and other countries and establish a partnership with NATO.
There is no doubt that Colombia's willingness to deepen the 'partnership' will be tested by Washington and the Pentagon on the front lines of the fight against the 'Bolivarian regime'. The main goal is not to inflict military and political defeat on the regime in Venezuela for its alleged lack of democracy and disregard for human rights. This is about seizing the Venezuelan oil fields, whose strategic importance for the fate of the Empire is beyond doubt. Analysts in Venezuela often say that the catastrophic predictions about the exhaustion of global oil, gas and slate reserves do not hold true for their country. There are enough hydrocarbons in Venezuela's underground reservoirs and continental shelf to last for many decades, even with intensive extraction. That is why the U.S. prefers the option of force for solving the problem with Venezuela. Instead of establishing civilized relations with the lawfully elected Bolivarian government, like many countries whose petroleum companies are successfully operating in Venezuela, Washington considers force its main argument for a 'dialog'. The Empire has set the Pentagon, the Southern Command with its Fourth Fleet, and intelligence agencies which have mastered the techniques of total terrorism into motion against Venezuela.
In these circumstances the traitorous role of Colombia's ruling elite with regard to the processes of integration in the region, the further development of Latin American regional organizations, and the implementation of a South American defense system is all the more obvious.
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