The Attempted Coup in Venezuela: Which Side Are You On?

During clear "Which side are you on?" moments like these, and I am speaking of the U.S.-sponsored coup underway in Venezuela, it is interesting to click through the bookmarks on my web browser to see who is saying what. The Intercept and Jacobin have nothing to say as of this morning. Not surprising. The Intercept has long published Robert Mackey's regime-change talking points on Syria, while Jacobin stood on the sidelines when Trump bombed Syria last spring.

On the other hand, Consortium News has been good, as, of course, have been Craig Murray and Moon of Alabama.

A masterful write-up this morning can be found on World Socialist Web Site, Bill Van Auken's "US coup bid pushes Venezuela closer to invasion or civil war." The first WSWS posts on the coup were tainted by finger-pointing at Maduro's capitalist government; Van Auken manages to do without the petulant Trot predilection for ideological perfection.

In terms of the mainstream outlets, AP has an active "latest developments" story. Reuters provides up-to-date coverage, the latest dispatch being that Germany, France, Britain and Spain all plan to recognize the Guaido coup unless Venezuela schedules elections within eight days. Talk about blackmail.

The New York Times has been a beacon for the coup. Since Trump's election, the Gray Lady has refashioned itself as The Anti-Trump Times, unless he is bombing Syria or fomenting additional civil wars. Then the "newspaper of record" applauds the president for his statesmanship.

This morning the national edition of The New York Times features a frontpager by Nicholas Casey, "Within Venezuelan Military Ranks, a Struggle Over What Leader to Back," which is pure disinformation. The coup plan is obviously heavily dependent on the "bum rush" kabuki: There is so much opposition, both foreign and domestic, that Maduro has no other option but to resign, and Venezuela's military will deliver that message.

But it didn't work out that way. The military branded the coup "laughable." So onto Plan B: whip up the fiction that there is a rank'n'file officer rebellion brewing in Venezuela's armed services.

Unfortunately, Casey's reporting creates the opposite impression. There is no there there:

In 2017, [Lt. Hidalgo] said he was approached by a dissident military group called the Sword of God. Shortly afterward, he was captured by military intelligence agents but escaped to Brazil, he said.

Today, he works with Mr. Guillén, recruiting defectors who have left the country and have expressed interest in returning to start an uprising. During an interview, two of his comrades showed a spreadsheet with hundreds of names, ages, ranks and identification numbers — people they said were interested in joining them.

Among the documents were screenshots of what they said was a WhatsApp conversation with a young cadet in Venezuela expressing concern about whether he might be asked to put down the latest wave of protests.

“I’m not going to permit that someone fires on the people,” the message said. “The cadets are angry. We don’t want this government.”

A former American official said that these disgruntled military officers, along with thousands of other military-aged men who have fled the country, could present a serious challenge to Mr. Maduro if neighboring countries led by right-wing governments — like Colombia and Brazil — mobilized them, or allowed them to mobilize on their own.

Evidence of a rebellion within the military? WhatsApp screenshots and a quote from an anonymous U.S. ex-official.

Pathetic.