[News] Military trains students in case of external threat to Venezuela

[News at freedomarchives.org]

Military trains students to use rifles; study guerilla tactics in the case 
of an external threat to Venezuelan national sovereignty

<http://www.vheadline.com/readnews.asp?id=25845>http://www.vheadline.com/readnews.asp?id=25845 


VHeadline commentarist Carlos Herrera writes:  The threat of intervention 
in Venezuela’s sovereign affairs ... either directly from the US beach head 
in Latin America represented by Plan Colombia or direct intervention using 
US troops, cruise missiles, smart bombs etc., or the constant stream of 
distorted statements from US State Department spokesmen laying the ground 
to “prove” that Chavez is consorting with terrorists are all elements of 
the growing US hostility from the government of George W. Bush towards the 
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and its sovereign people.

The latter strategy has been implemented with the connivance of corporate 
US media outlets such as Fox News, CNN en español and the help of deluded 
extreme right-wing journalists such as Mary Anastasia O’Grady writing in 
the Wall Street Journal, Michael Rowan in various Caracas-based 
publications such as El Universal and The Daily Journal, Phil Gunson 
operating out of Miami ... as well as other paid hacks.
    * US attorney Eva Golinger stated that more than 50 articles ... all 
with the same negative tone ... had been published in recent weeks in the 
US mass media, when Venezuela NEVER receives this amount of coverage.

Such coverage is limited to Chavez funding the Colombian guerrillas, buying 
arms from Russia, being friends with Fidel Castro, troops taking over 
private property, more poverty than ever in Venezuela and any other 
negative aspects these hacks could dream up in their servile roles of 
supporting the Bush doctrine of combating terrorism, real or imagined, at 
any cost.

In the case of Venezuela, like Iraq and Afghanistan, it’s all about “black 
gold” or natural gas

Suffice to say that no mention is made of respecting the democratic will of 
the Venezuelan people after 9 elections or referendum victories in six 
years supporting Chavez himself and his policies ... or the fact that 
social policies implemented by the Bolivarian Revolution via the Missions 
are specifically aimed at restoring basic human dignity, human rights and 
self-esteem to almost 20 million Venezuelans who had never had access to 
anything.
    * Since these accomplishments cannot be measured in dollars and cents, 
they do not exist for the one-dimensional mentality of the US corporate 
mass media and their Venezuelan off shoots. This is more than sad. It is 
tragic.

On February 29, 2004, there was a massive march and rally on the main 
freeway that passes through Caracas near the botanical gardens, the theme 
of which was “No to Yankee Imperialism.” Chavez spoke for nigh on 2½ hours 
to almost one million Bolivarians plus a nationwide TV audience and it was 
at this point that the national defense of Venezuela against US 
intimidation and threats began to take shape. It was then that the 
Bolivarian Revolution was declared “anti-imperialist”.

What measures are being taken?

Since one of the cornerstones of the social transformation of Venezuela as 
exemplified in the context of the democratic Bolivarian Revolution is based 
on civic-military union and cooperation, not only in order to strengthen 
ties but also actively working together on projects to improve the lot of 
the majority poor, Chavez invited the “pueblo” to go to the local garrisons 
and barracks to receive training in self-defense. This was the first 
important step to gradually mobilize the mass of the population.

Last Sunday in the President’s weekly radio and TV program “Alo 
Presidente,” Chavez called on the “revolutionary squads” to prepare 
themselves and organize the local populace. This is the first time he has 
mentioned this strategy to my certain knowledge.

Previous to this ... about two years ago ... the abandoned military reserve 
had been reactivated consisting mainly of men and women who had once served 
in the military and who had been trained is the use of arms. The 
establishment of the reservists started with 50,000 and by July this year 
should be in the region of 190,000-­200,000. These reservists are paid, 
armed and encouraged to form cooperatives so as to generate both wealth and 
work in the function of the needs of the country.

Venezuela’s armed forces consist of 120,000 men and women in all four 
components -­ Army, Navy, Air Force and National Guard. These numbers are 
due to be increased and fresh weapons purchased from Brazil and Russia in 
preparation for the defense of the homeland against any external threat as 
outlined above. Even though the official line is that the 100,000 AK 47 
assault rifles from Russia will be used to replace outdated bolt action 
weapons, the latter will still exist in order to arm the population in the 
case of an emergency.

In a news report on Venezuelan National Radio (RNV) last night, it was 
revealed that the Bolivarian University of Venezuela (UBV) will be located 
in the barracks and garrisons of the armed forces.

To understand the significance of this strategic move, it is necessary to 
grasp the ethos and purpose of the UBV. This popular university was created 
in June 2003 so as to guarantee university places to the sons and daughters 
of the poor who has been historically excluded from the middle class 
dominated educational elitist institutions such as the Central University 
of Venezuela (UCV) and the Simon Bolivar University (USB).
    * In fact, it meant the mass-ification of higher education and as such 
had to be nationwide.

Thus, the plan was to “municipalize” classes all over the country, usually 
in the evening when school classrooms are vacant, so that students could 
receive classes in their own towns, and not have to travel. Effectively, 
this is the true democratization of education with the poorest receiving 
monthly grants of around US$100. The UBV will eventually have 400,000 
students rivaling Beijing University as the largest in the world.

Most of the students now studying in the UBV entered through Mission Sucre, 
designed to allow access of the underprivileged to university education -­ 
thus most of these students will have received the benefit of the Chavez 
social/educational policies and should be committed to the process of 
change which has allowed them to study and make more of their lives, 
especially as some in their early 30s had waited ten years or more to 
secure a university place.

By extension, this “municipalization” has been extended to military 
installations, where classes will still be held, where students can learn 
and study the Bolivarian Constitution as well as how to sow and plant in 
line with the policy of “endogenous development” or self-sufficiency. Now, 
however, being under the wing of the military trainers, they can also learn 
how to use a rifle and study guerilla tactics in the case of the 
materialization of an external threat to Venezuelan national sovereignty.

The long term plan is to mobilize millions of citizens, students, 
reservists and professional soldiers to be at the ready in case their is a 
direct intervention either via Colombia or from US troops trying to take 
oil installations or wells.

Critics may whine that Chavez is “militarizing” Venezuelan society -­ but 
what else do you expect the government to do?
    * Disarm, as was the case in Haiti, and allow Chavez to be kidnapped as 
was President Aristide?
    * Or be like Costa Rica, where there is only a police force and no 
military?

The Bolivarian military doctrine clearly states that the armed forces are 
the people in arms and vice-versa -­ that is everyone. I can personally 
vouch for the fact that many poor who live in the barrios (slum districts) 
in the provinces, are already preparing themselves for an invasion, even 
without the constant cajoling of President Chavez.

Why?

Since they are conscious of what happened In Guatemala in 1954, Brazil in 
1964, Chile in 1973, Grenada in 1986, Panama in 1989, Nicaragua and El 
Salvador in the 1980’s and more recently in Haiti in February 2004, without 
mentioning the human tragedy taking place in Iraq and Afghanistan. They 
understand the implications of the 1823 Monroe Doctrine.
    * No one really knows how many people are ready, and I am not one to 
hazard a guess on this strategic matter

The US State Department must realize that if their boss continues with this 
destabilization policy with a view to invasion or assassination of Chavez, 
then the consequences could be disastrous on a long, long term basis, as 
described in my article published yesterday 
<http://www.vheadline.com/readnews.asp?id=25822>“Let’s hope and pray that 
US corporate greed does not trigger a blood bath,” either by invading or 
attempting to assassinate Chavez.

International public opinion and diplomatic moves in the OAS, UN could 
prevent a preemptive strike on Venezuela, but rest assured, that the 
“pueblo” will always be on the alert and prepared together with our armed 
forces. The US could conceivably occupy Venezuela, but the word “surrender 
“ (rendición) does not exist either in Cuban or Bolivarian vocabulary, for 
that matter.

South American integration is a huge obstacle to US hegemony in the region 
and has effectively stopped the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) dead 
in its tracks, and thus US corporate exploitation and greed at the expense 
of disseminating more poverty in the region.
    * I propose reciprocal military defense alliances between all signatory 
countries to the South American Community of Nations (CSN). This could be 
discussed at the next meeting as early as April.

I am also certain that we can depend on the support of international 
players such as China, Cuba, Russia and Iran as the US continues to isolate 
itself on the geopolitical stage, simply due to the war mongering mentality 
of the hawks in the Bush administration driven blindly forward by US 
transnational corporations in their quest for Nazi-like world domination, 
as Bob Chapman of the International Forecaster has asserted in recent months.

The days, weeks and months ahead could be tense and difficult but action 
has to be taken and the population prepared. Bolivarians are peace loving 
but we also demand respect for our right to self-determination and to 
implement our own values and create a society based on human dignity and 
equality.

Venezuela is not a threat to the US and we do not possess WMD’s -­ neither 
did Iraq -­ just dignity and free will to shape our own destiny and that of 
our children and grand children.

We will not shirk to defend ourselves and our country since this is not 
just about Venezuela
.but about all the underprivileged and excluded in 
Central America, the Caribbean basin and South America, in fact the poor on 
all continents who represent around 4 billion human beings at the last count.

Carlos Herrera
<mailto:Carlos.Herrera at VHeadline.com>Carlos.Herrera at VHeadline.com

The Freedom Archives
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