Eva Golinger, New York
Documents recently obtained from the US Department of State under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by <http://www.venezuelafoia.info> demonstrate that more than US$5 million annually during the past two years was given by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to various organisations in Venezuela, many of which are aligned with the opposition.
One of the key groups collaborating with USAID is S£mate, the organisation that promoted the unsuccessful recall referendum against President Hugo Ch vez, held on August 15, and is now rejecting the results that have been certified by the most credible international observers and even by the US government. S£mate, despite its numerous undemocratic positions and actions, has also been a recipient of US government funds from the National Endowment for Democracy in 2003.
The new documents obtained by Venezuelafoia.info have all been censored by the US government, despite the use of the FOIA. The censorship indicates that USAID and the US government have something to hide regarding their collaborations with the Venezuelan opposition.
USAID is financed by the US Congress, and is controlled by the Department of State. Founded by President John Kennedy in 1961, USAID was established as a fund dedicated to humanitarian intervention around the world. However, it has has more recently been used as a mechanism to promote the interests of the US in strategically important countries around the world.
In the case of Venezuela, USAID maintains a private contractor in Caracas, monitoring and facilitating its projects and funds and also has a local operating centre, the Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) that was established in 2002, after the failed coup against Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. The private contractor, Development Alternatives, inc. (DAI), manages and supervises grants approved by USAID to Venezuelan organisations.
Under a program entitled Venezuela: Initiative to Build Confidence, DAI has awarded 67 grants to Venezuelan organisations in various sectors and areas of interest. These grants equalled $2.3 million for 2003. In total, DAI 's program in Venezuela counted on $10,000,000 in funding for the period August 2002 through August 2004 â $5 million annually to "focus on common goals for the future of Venezuela".
According to the documents obtained under FOIA and DAI's project description (available on <http://www.dai.com/about_dai/about_fs.htm>) none of the project grants or programs have been in collaboration with the Venezuelan government.
In fact, many of the same recipients of US government funds through the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) have also received USAID funding through DAI. Despite the illegal withholding of names on the USAID-DAI grants, one document apparently was skipped, at least in part. The name S£mate appears on a grant intended to encourage "electoral participation" in the recall referendum, citing $84,840 as the total grant amount.
Combined with the NED grant of $53,400 given to S£mate in 2003-04, the organisation that is now crying fraud about the recall referendum against Ch vez has received, at minimum, more than $200,000 in just one year for promoting its attempts to remove Venezuela's president from office.
Other recipients of USAID funds through DAI which are apparent in the censored documents include the organisation Liderazgo y Visi¢n for its project, "Un Sue¤o para Venezuela", "A Dream for Venezuela" a project created in 2002-2003 with the intent of offering an alternative vision and agenda for those opposing Ch vez's administration. Liderazgo y Visi¢n has also been a recipient of NED funds over the past few years.
More than six organisations have been given funding for political and social formation and development in Petare, a poor neighbourhood in the outskirts of Caracas, in the Miranda state. The work in Petare, and the more than $200,000 that has been funnelled into that neighbourhood in the past year, appear to have been aimed at converting a community that was traditionally pro-Ch vez, into one that supports the opposition.
The recall referendum results from August 15, show the opposition gaining substantial numbers in Petare, and Miranda state was one of only two states in the entire nation that gave victory to the opposition in the referendum.
One grant from USAID/DAI focuses on the creation of radio and television commercials during the December 2002-February 2003 strike imposed by the opposition, during which the private media dedicated its airwaves 24-7 to opposition propaganda.
One of the most striking aspects of the media's dedication to the strike was the use of anti-Ch vez commercials to indoctrinate viewers' opinions on Venezuela's political situation. The USAID/DAI grant shows funding originating from the US government for some of these anti-Ch vez commercials.
These new documents from USAID provide evidence for a clear focus on two major projects in Venezuela: The recall referendum and the formation of a national agenda that would serve as a transitional government post-Ch vez (assuming the referendum was won by the opposition).
[The documents are available for public viewing on <http://www.venezuelafoia.info>, from where this article is abridged.]
From Green Left Weekly, September 15, 2004.
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