EVA GOLINGER

The Bolivarian Revolution is a global revolution

BY JEAN-GUY ALLARD—Granma International staff writer—

• HER name and her accent are from the movies. Her youthful manner,  
bold sense of humor and ironic smile touch everyone. The daughter of a  
U.S. father and Venezuelan mother, Eva Golinger is a most unusual woman.
A lawyer specialized in international human rights law and educated in  
New York, she left that U.S. metropolis to live in Venezuela, a  
country that she passionately defends.

Her book, The Chávez Code, which reveals U.S. intervention in this  
South American nation, was described by José Vicente Rangel, then vice  
president, as an "incredible record of Venezuelan experiences from  
2001-2003."

Her most recent work, Bush v. Chávez: Washington's War on Venezuela,  
documents the constant escalation of imperial agression towards the  
Bolivarian Revolution.

She attacks without blinking and without fear, the CIA, the Pentagon,  
the NED, RSF, USAID, the Venezuelan mafia in Miami or Colombian  
paramilitarism, with the ardor of an attorney confronting the court  
with irrefutable evidence in her portfolio.

 From Caracas, the Venezuelan-U.S. lawyer and researcher Eva Golinger  
responds to a few questions.

It has been affirmed that the coup against Chávez was CIA-backed. You  
have studied this case closely: how is this most evident to you?

There are distinct factors that I have been able to detect and expose  
through an investigation that I began more than five years ago,  
utilizing the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to demonstrate the  
involvement of the CIA and other U.S. government agencies in the coup  
against Chávez. The most conclusive facts and evidence include a  
series of documents classified Top Secret by the CIA, dating from  
March 5, 2002 to April 17, 2002, which clearly refer to plans for a  
coup against Chávez: who, how, where and when, everything laid out in  
detail. One in particular, dated April 6, 2002; in other words, five  
days before the coup, emphasizes how the opposition sectors, the CTV,  
Fedecámaras (the country's main business federation), dissident  
soldiers, the private media and even the Catholic Church were going to  
march through the streets in those first weeks of April and the coup  
conspirators would provoke violence with snipers in the street,  
causing deaths, and then they would arrest President Chávez and other  
important members of his cabinet. After that, they would install a  
civil-military transitional government. Anyone who knows what happened  
that April 11-12, 2002, knows that's what went down. And after taking  
President Chávez prisoner, it was only U.S. government spokespersons  
who came out and recognized the coup government of Pedro Carmona, and  
moreover tried to put pressure on other countries to do the same.

So, those documents that clearly show knowledge of the detailed plans  
for the coup against Chávez, written by the CIA, are the most damning  
evidence confirming the role of the CIA in the coup. However, the fact  
that financial and advisory agencies like the National Endowment for  
Democracy (NED), the International republican Institute (IRI), the  
National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the Center for International  
Private Enterprise (CIPE) financed all the groups, NGOs, trade unions,  
businesspeople, political parties and the media involved in the coup,  
also demonstrate overwhelming evidence of the role of the CIA and the  
other U.S. agencies in the coup against Chávez. After the coup, those  
agencies even increased their funding for the coup organizers  
themselves, something that re-confirms their commitment to them and  
their intention to continue efforts to overthrow Chávez.

We could also talk of the role of the Pentagon and U.S. military,  
which trained the coup members, equipped them with weapons and  
promoted their actions.

In what way is the U.S. embassy in Caracas keeping up its interference?

The U.S. embassy in Venezuela is very active. These days, its main  
strategy is subversion. This is manifested by USAID, NED, IRI, Freedom  
House, CIPE, etc. funding of opposition groups, but there is also an  
attempt to penetrate pro-Chávez sectors and communities. This last  
tactic is one of the most dangerous and effective. In 2005, William  
Brownfield, then U.S. ambassador in Caracas (he is now the ambassador  
to Colombia), began to open what they call "American Corners" in  
different Venezuelan cities. Currently, they are operating in Maracay,  
Margarita, Barquisimeto, Maturín, Lecherías and Puerto Ordaz. They are  
little propaganda and conspiracy centers that function as nuclei to  
recruit and bring together opposition members. To date the Venezuelan  
government has not taken any concrete steps to eradicate this illegal  
initiative (despite the clear violation of the Vienna Convention –  
these are considered "satellite consulates" by the US government,  
despite the lack of permission from the Venezuelan Ministry of Foreign  
Relations).

The CIA and the State Department maintain various fronts in the  
country, as they always do. There is Development Alternatives Inc.  
(DAI), a U.S. corporation based in the El Rosal sector in Caracas,  
which functions as a filter for funding from USAID to opposition NGOs  
and groups. Then there the Press and Society Institute, part of the  
Reporters sans frontiers (RSF) network, which receives funds from the  
NED, USAID, the CIA etc. to execute its neoliberal, pro-U.S. policy  
and to attempt to accuse the Venezuelan government of being repressive  
and violating the rights of free expression and a free press.

Freedom House and the USAID are also financing right-wing student  
leaders and movements and sending them to Belgrade to train with  
experts in the Orange Revolution (Ukraine) and other so-called  
processes for "overthrowing dictators." Recently, the neoliberal right- 
wing Cato Institute think tank, which advises Bush and receives  
funding from Exxon Mobile and Philip Morris, awarded a "prize" worth  
$500,000 to the opposition Venezuelan student Yon Goicochea. The  
prize, which bears the name of Milton Friedman, who was advisor to  
Nixon, Reagan and Pinochet and is the architect of the neoliberal  
policy and the economic " shock doctrine," will be used to finance a  
new, "fresh-faced" political party in Venezuela – a group of young  
people trained since 2005 by U.S. agencies that have had some  
influence over certain political sectors during the last year.

The thought is that this group could come to be a powerful political  
force since it does not come from corrupt political circles of the  
past. However, we have been able to unmask the majority of them and  
demonstrate their relationship with Washington as well as the  
political elite that governed here before.

With the new CIA Special Mission for Venezuela and Cuba (set up in  
2006), we know that the Agency is more active than ever in the  
country. The stronger and more popular Chávez and the revolution  
become, the more resources the CIA and US government dedicate to  
neutralize him.

The residue of various Latin American dictatorships is currently to be  
found in Miami. The pro-Batista Cubans have dominated the city for  
years, but the number of so-called anti-Chavists is growing. What are  
your observations on this subject?

Miami isn't an ugly city. Unfortunately, the pro-Batista Cubans took  
control of the city decades ago and now they have welcomed the anti- 
Chavista Venezuelans, many of them coup organizers, with open arms.  
There is talk of "Westonzuela," an area on the outskirts of Miami  
where the self-exiled Venezuelans live. I think that they are totally  
disassociated from reality, just like those Cubans who are still  
living in the 50s. They are aggressive from a distance and have  
conspiratorial plans, but I don't believe that they constitute a  
serious threat to our revolution.

They go about creating their ruckus over there and working with Cuban- 
American congress members, as well as fanatical Connie Mack, trying to  
demonize President Chávez and the revolution. Their latest initiative  
was to place Venezuela on the State Department list of terrorist  
countries. Despite the pressure that they brought to bear and the  
stories that they invented about a supposed link between the  
Venezuelan government and terrorist groups, they failed in their final  
objective: Venezuela was not classified as a state sponsor of  
terrorism. On the contrary, many congresspersons and members of U.S.  
society rejected that initiative and, to a certain extent, that  
coupster community was left discredited.

Of course, one must never discount the possibility that they will  
continue conspiring and inventing new ways of destabilizing Venezuela,  
just as they have done with Cuba for almost 50 years. And they can  
count on financial support from USAID, the NED and other imperial  
agencies, but I don't believe that they will affect the advances of  
the revolution very much. They are paper tigers.

Recently John McCain was boasting to a group of Cuban Americans in  
Miami, trying to show that he has always been sensitive to the  
situation in Cuba, that he was aboard theUSS Enterprise facing the  
Cuban coast during the hours of the Missile Crisis. What is your  
perception of McCain's stance in relation to Venezuela, Cuba and Latin  
America?

If he should be elected president of the United States, McCain would  
engage in a much more hostile and aggressive policy toward Venezuela  
and Cuba, and the other ALBA countries. His discourse is already more  
precise and directed toward the region and he is constantly mentioning  
how he would further tighten policy on what he classifies as  
dictatorships and "threats to democracy" in Venezuela and Cuba. That  
goes beyond simply wanting the Florida vote. McCain is a military man  
and an imperialist in the sense that he won't accept the United States  
losing its influence over and domination of its "backyard." He suffers  
from that same complex that the other Republicans have about Cuba and  
Fidel Castro, for example. They still cannot accept that Cuba has  
defeated imperial aggression and the 50 years of blockade and attacks.  
They persist with selfish and infantile attitudes that stop them from  
turning the page and accepting reality: the most powerful empire in  
the world could not defeat the Cuban Revolution. So, with a McCain, we  
will be even worse off than with a Bush and, believe me, that is a  
hard one to surpass.

The Democrats' position is not always apparent. Will it be very  
different from McClain and his clan?

I don't think it will be that different; perhaps in form, but not in  
terms of the final goal. The democrats love to use the NED, the USAID  
and the other agencies with "pretty faces"  and names like Freedom  
House or the Institute for Peace to execute their interventionist  
policies. I think that a Democrat in the White House will not change  
policy on Latin America to any great extent. Maybe there would be more  
dialogue, but I don't believe that the interference will end.  
Moreover, all the candidates have said that President Chávez is a  
dictator and that their administration, if elected, will focus more on  
the region's "problems."

Let's remember that it isn't about who occupies the chair in the Oval  
Office, but those who are around that person. And that doesn't change  
much whether the occupant is a Democrat or a Republican. The military- 
industrial complex, the big bankers and the transnationals are the  
ones that really govern in the United States. And they are not leaving  
power in November.

On a more personal note, access to the power of President Hugo Chávez  
has evidently changed your life. How did it come about that you became  
an actor in the political live of Venezuela? Where were you in your  
life? How did you experience the Coup?

I experienced the coup from New York, although I was in Mérida during  
the strike and oil sabotage, it was over Christmas and I was visiting  
family. I left Mérida, Venezuela in 1998 after having lived there for  
nearly five years. During that time, I experienced the era of  
political repression, forced military draft and suspension of civil  
and basic rights, during the administrations of Carlos Andrés Pérez  
and later Caldera. I know how the country was before the revolution  
and believe me that things have significantly changed for the benefit  
of all.

Later, when Hugo Chávez won, we all had hopes of change, but no one  
knew exactly how this would manifest in real life. Many people can say  
beautiful things and captivate the public, but few actually act on  
those words to make real change. Chávez proved that he was different  
when he encouraged a nationwide assembly to rewrite the constitution.  
Even though I was in New York, I was very interested in this process.  
I was finishing my Juris Doctorate in international law and  
international human rights. It was such an interesting process to  
witness and the resulting document (the new constitution) was  
absolutely extraordinary. My interest in the policies of Chávez and  
the changes happening in the country began to grow stronger. The media  
attacks that began against his government when the new constitution  
was approved in a national referendum in 1999 got my attention.

When the coup happened, I was so far away that I just cried because  
there was nothing else I could do for my friends and all the victims  
of that atrocity. I remember the phone call we received from Mérida  
telling us that Chávez had been overthrown. We couldn't believe it.  
There had been no news on the US television channels. Only hours  
later, CNN had a brief note stating that Chávez had resigned after  
ordering the massacre of protesters in the street. I called friends,  
but it was difficult to communicate because the lines were congested.  
Later they told me that it had been a coup and that people were in the  
street protesting, and that things were not over yet.

The failure of the coup, the rescue of Chávez and the revolution on  
the part of the people and the loyal military forces, made me want to  
return to the country. When I finished my doctorate in 2003, I began  
to work closely with the revolution and started an investigation using  
FOIA to uncover the role of Washington in the coup. I felt that it was  
my responsibility as a US citizen and lawyer to use my knowledge and  
privileges to seek justice. I met Chávez for the first time in January  
2003, at the United Nations in New York. He autographed my copy of the  
Bolivarian constitution and he told me that since his brother is named  
Adam his family had wanted him to be Eva (Eve in English), but Hugo  
was born instead. Good thing, I told him.

Later I saw him again on his plane when he invited me to my first Aló  
Presidente in April 2004. It was April 11, 2004 and he invited me to  
talk about the documents that evidence funding of opposition groups by  
the NED and the US government. Shortly thereafter, I decided to  
dedicate my lifework to the investigation and the revolutionary  
struggle, leaving behind my beloved city of New York and many things  
that were important and precious to me. But the struggle for social  
justice and my duty to contribute as much as possible to that process  
is more important.

  It is said that Chávez has called you the "sweetheart of the  
Revolution," – I have heard others, with a wink and a smile, call you  
the sex-symbol of the Bolivarian Revolution – you are for many the  
Pasionaria of this passionate process. Being both North American and  
Venezuelan, so young, attractive, talented, with a successful career  
in New York, what provoked you to move to Caracas and risk it all in  
this struggle?

  Hahahaha, "sex –symbol" of the Revolution? I don't even have a  
boyfriend! Well, maybe the revolution is my boyfriend, as the  
President said. What is certain is that I am married to the fight for  
justice. What is also certain is that once President Chávez did call  
me the "sweetheart of the revolution," but as always, he was just  
being affectionate and recognizing my commitment and passion for this  
process. I don't think it was anything more than that.

  To many I am the Pasionaria  of this process? Well, I am passionate;  
there is no doubt about that. I consider myself to be a revolutionary  
combatant committed until death to the struggle for social justice.  
For me that means the struggle is above all else. This is not  
conducive to one's personal life, as you can imagine. I was married  
once (to a Venezuelan, now I'm divorced) I had my practice in New  
York, I was making good money, and it's true that I could have taken  
advantage of the opportunities within the capitalist system. But that  
has never made me happy. I have rejected the "establishment" all my  
life.  Since I became aware of injustice and the possibility of  
changing things, I have been dedicated to that, whatever the cost.

My first jobs were in the social and political arenas.  I was a  
Greenpeace activist, later I defended and fought for animal rights.  
Later I opted for humans and began to study CIA and FBI interventions  
in revolutionary movements in the US and in Latin America. I was  
passionate about the topic. My university friends remember me that way  
and are not surprised at what I am doing today. I have always been  
this way. I was also, or I am, a singer and a musician, and I will  
continue to be all my life. But for me, life is fluid, the form  
changes, but the spirit remains the same. If I can contribute to  
social justice through singing, I'll do it. If it's my destiny to do  
it as a lawyer denouncing and investigating, I'll do that too. I don't  
consider myself "common." I see life from the outside, but I live it  
from inside. I believe in sincerity, honesty, respect, loyalty, and  
love. More than anything, I believe in justice.

To me the Bolivarian revolution is a global revolution, one of the  
most important in history. I feel extraordinarily fortunate to be a  
witness and a participant in this process. I was born to be here  
fighting for justice, denouncing the interventions and violations of  
the empire, contributing my grain of salt to the fight for a better  
world.

  Venezuela is my country, through blood and struggle. My grandfather  
and his family were born and lived here. His blood runs through my  
veins and his roots attached to me the first time I stepped on this  
magical soil more than fifteen years ago. I will never abandon this  
country. Attacking Venezuela and this revolution is like attacking me  
in the very foundation of my soul, and I will fight with all I have to  
defend that.
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