CIA Behind RCTV Protests in Venezuela

Bowen Rosten, head of the CIA for Latin America, was seen in a picture taken during a protest in Caracas, where he is seen participating. The revelation was aired on Venezuelan TV by Jose Vicente Rangel yesterday, during his TV program. This evidence is but the latest in a series of clues that increasingly indicate the United States is behind the recent (small but violent) protests in Caracas in recent days.

At a press conference last week attended by 600 social organizations, Venezuelan-American lawyer Eva Golinger presented evidence to journalists that unveiled declassified documents that show the payment in dollars of journalists from RCTV and Globovision by the US Government, through its State Dept. and CIA subsidiaries - NED and Freedom House. Golinger is the author of The Chavez Code, which documents U.S. funding of opposition groups and U.S. involvement in the 2002 coup attempt.

The payments were supposedly for travel and expenses related to journalistic training. However, the program also has the purpose of influencing how Venezuelan journalists cover events related to the U.S. foreign policy. According to the documents released, the programs seek to "influence the approach and ultimately the coverage given to issues of importance to U.S. foreign policy and to strengthen the Venezuelan democratic process." Opposition journalists, including Miguel Angel Rodriguez of RCTV, who received more than $6,000, and Maria Fernanda Flores of Globovision, were the main recipients.

The journalists involved in these programs were chosen by the U.S. embassy and could very well have been unaware of the program’s efforts to influence their coverage of U.S. foreign policy.

Golinger also presented evidence of an internationally coordinated destabilization plan, showing a protest flyer apparently designed by Freedom House, a U.S. government funded organization dedicated to democracy and free market capitalism.

Freedom House, previously headed by CIA Director Woosley, has been involved in other countries and other campaigns to overthrow regimes such as Serbia and the Ukraine. According to Golinger, the flyers circulating in Caracas have the logo of a clenched fist, the same logo used in the campaigns in other countries such as Serbia, Georgia, and the Ukraine.

Golinger also made reference to the fact that leaders from the Serbian campaign, and people from the Center for Applied Nonviolent Action and Strategies (Canvas) have been involved with the Venezuelan opposition and have given trainings about nonviolent resistance inside Venezuela. According to the webpage of Canvas, Venezuela is one of three nations in which the resistance strategies are being used.

Golinger said that she found the presence of these programs to be "worrying" in light of the tense relations between the United States and Venezuela, as well as the aggressive media atmosphere in Venezuela in recent years.

"We have to be very aware that there are actors that are looking to create a scenario that later is going to justify what they want, which is an international intervention, above all from the United States," said Golinger.

Thanks to Chris Carlson, Venezuelanalysis.com for much of this reporting.