Was it really a military coup? Anybody who has lived in Caracas, knows that you cannot wage a spontaneous military coup starting up in Chacaito, an upper middle class residential area, with a view to eventually marching towards the Miraflores presidential palace located in the historical centre of Caracas, without getting caught in dense traffic. There are important historical precedents of failed coups caught up in traffic. Guaido presents the operation as the “Final phase” of “Operation Freedom.” ??? An attempted coup or violent street riots? Lopez and Guaido released videos on social media, calling on the armed forces to back their efforts and urging supporters to take to the streets, in what they termed as the “final phase” of the so-called “Operation Freedom.” Large crowds of anti-government protesters, as well as opposition lawmakers, made their way to the Altamira overpass. (Venezuelanalysis, May 1, 2019)The government responded by sending in the riot police, with the Armed Forces using tear gas against the protesters. This spontaneous so-called military putsch was meant to fail. Visibly, it was not a carefully planned operation. And Washington was fully aware from the outset that it would fail. In fact it was carefully staged “not to succeed”: The scene then saw armed confrontations between the soldiers that backed Juan Guaido and those inside La Carlota airbase.From Washington’s standpoint, the ‘putsch” nonetheless served a “useful” purpose. It created a “narrative”, which serves as propaganda and media disinformation. In turn, the Western media goes into high gear. The “coup” becomes a talking point for the Bolton-Pompeo national security team. It becomes a pretext and a justification for US military intervention in the name of Democracy at some future date. Mild thunder before the storm? It sets the stage? What is the intended timeline? A failed putsch which may be followed by a “real” US sponsored military coup at some later date? That option is already on the drawing-board of the Pentagon. The failed coup, a sloppy intelligence operation? Unlikely. US intelligence was fully informed. Was this event planned to fail from the very outset? *** An Important Historical Precedent, Santiago de Chile. The Failed June 29, 1973 Coup In Chile in 1973, the September 11 coup d’Etat which led to the assassination of Allende and the installation of a military government was a carefully prepared military-intelligence operation supported by the US. with Henry Kissinger playing a key role. Of historical significance: The September 11, 1973 coup was preceded by a failed coup on June 29, 1973 , which, in retrospect, was intended to fail. In 1973, I was visiting professor at the Catholic University of Chile. The following text is an excerpt from an article I wrote in Santiago de Chile in the immediate wake of September 11, 1973 military coup against the democratically elected government of president Salvador Allende. Bear in mind: The circumstances of Chile in 1973 as well as the command structure of the (Chilean) Armed Forces were very different to those of Venezuela in 2019. In the course of the months of July-August 1973, following the June 29, 1973 failed coup, important shifts occurred within Chile’s Armed Forces.In turn, the Christian Democrats were pressuring Allende to bring the military into the government. Chile: The June 29, 1973 Failed Coup On June 29, 1973, Coronal Roberto Souper led his tank division in an isolated attack on La Moneda, the Presidential Palace, in the hope that other units of the armed forces would join in. The June coup had initially been planned for the morning of September 27 by Patria y Libertad as well as by several high ranking military officers. The plans were found out by Military Intelligence and the coup was called off at 6pm on the 26th. A warrant for the arrest of Coronal Souper had been issued. Confronted with knowledge of his impending arrest, Colonel Souper in consultation with the officers under his command, decided to act in a most improvised fashion. At 9 am, amidst morning rush hour traffic, Tank Division Number Two drove down Bernardo O’Higgins, Santiago’s main down-town avenue towards the Presidential Palace. Source URL |