Chavez, Readying for Coup, Appoints Drug Trafficking General

Toro

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Sep 29, 2005
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Surfing the Oceans of Liquidity
Ol' Hugh is preparing contingency plans for when he loses the election in 2012.

President Hugo Chávez said he will on Tuesday promote to the rank of "General in Chief" a controversial top general who is on a U.S. blacklist for alleged drugs and arms trafficking.

The general, Henry Rangel Silva, recently said the army wouldn't accept anyone but Mr. Chávez as president even if he were to lose a re-election bid in 2012. ...

In an interview with local press, Gen. Rangel Silva said that an opposition victory in the 2012 election wouldn't and shouldn't be accepted by the nation's armed forces. "It would be like selling out the country. The people aren't going to accept that, not the armed forces and even less the people," he said. The army, "doesn't have half loyalty, but rather full loyalty...to the commander in chief," Gen. Rangel Silva said.

He said that the military wouldn't accept an opposition victory in 2012 because it is already committed to Mr. Chávez's "life project" to create socialism in Venezuela. ...

The comments also drew fire from the Organization of American States, whose secretary general, José Miguel Insulza, said the remarks were "unacceptable."

In September, Mr. Chávez, in power for eleven years, suffered a political setback in congressional elections when the opposition won the nation-wide popular vote by a narrow margin, leading analysts to raise the possibility that Mr. Chávez could lose his re-election bid scheduled for 2012. Venezuela has been plunged in recession for the last two years, while being buffeted by 30% inflation and a seemingly unstoppable wave of violent crime.

Since being dealt an electoral setback in September, Mr. Chávez has accelerated his drive to nationalize the country's industries, taking over feed and glass plants and even real-estate developments. He has also ratcheted up his rhetoric against his opponents, saying an opposition victory in 2012 would likely lead to a "violent revolution" by his supporters that he wouldn't be able to contain. ...

In 2008, Gen. Rangel Silva, then head of the country's intelligence service, was put on a U.S. Treasury blacklist for aiding drug and arms trafficking by Colombia's communist FARC guerillas. Another top general as well as Venezuela's former interior minister were put on the blacklist at the same time. Larry Palmer, the U.S.'s recent ambassador-designate to Venezuela, said earlier this year that Gen. Rangel Silva's rise within the Chávez government was "troublesome."

Chávez to Promote General - WSJ.com
 
Ol' Hugh is preparing contingency plans for when he loses the election in 2012.

President Hugo Chávez said he will on Tuesday promote to the rank of "General in Chief" a controversial top general who is on a U.S. blacklist for alleged drugs and arms trafficking.

The general, Henry Rangel Silva, recently said the army wouldn't accept anyone but Mr. Chávez as president even if he were to lose a re-election bid in 2012. ...

In an interview with local press, Gen. Rangel Silva said that an opposition victory in the 2012 election wouldn't and shouldn't be accepted by the nation's armed forces. "It would be like selling out the country. The people aren't going to accept that, not the armed forces and even less the people," he said. The army, "doesn't have half loyalty, but rather full loyalty...to the commander in chief," Gen. Rangel Silva said.

He said that the military wouldn't accept an opposition victory in 2012 because it is already committed to Mr. Chávez's "life project" to create socialism in Venezuela. ...

The comments also drew fire from the Organization of American States, whose secretary general, José Miguel Insulza, said the remarks were "unacceptable."

In September, Mr. Chávez, in power for eleven years, suffered a political setback in congressional elections when the opposition won the nation-wide popular vote by a narrow margin, leading analysts to raise the possibility that Mr. Chávez could lose his re-election bid scheduled for 2012. Venezuela has been plunged in recession for the last two years, while being buffeted by 30% inflation and a seemingly unstoppable wave of violent crime.

Since being dealt an electoral setback in September, Mr. Chávez has accelerated his drive to nationalize the country's industries, taking over feed and glass plants and even real-estate developments. He has also ratcheted up his rhetoric against his opponents, saying an opposition victory in 2012 would likely lead to a "violent revolution" by his supporters that he wouldn't be able to contain. ...

In 2008, Gen. Rangel Silva, then head of the country's intelligence service, was put on a U.S. Treasury blacklist for aiding drug and arms trafficking by Colombia's communist FARC guerillas. Another top general as well as Venezuela's former interior minister were put on the blacklist at the same time. Larry Palmer, the U.S.'s recent ambassador-designate to Venezuela, said earlier this year that Gen. Rangel Silva's rise within the Chávez government was "troublesome."
Chávez to Promote General - WSJ.com
Ha, like I didn't see that coming. He has been working towards making himself a dictator for years. :eusa_eh:
 

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