Déjà Vu? Washington's War on Cuba and Venezuela: From the Kissinger Files to 'Cable Gate'
Déjà Vu? Washington's War on Cuba and Venezuela: From the Kissinger Files to 'Cable Gate'
Posted: 04/14/2013 11:40 am
If the polls are to be believed, Hugo Chávez's successor Nicolás Maduro will probably defeat the political opposition in Sunday's presidential election, thus securing and solidifying Cuban-Venezuelan ties yet further. Such an outcome will come as a severe disappointment to Washington, which has spent the better part of 40 years trying to prevent such a diplomatic alliance from developing in the first place. For evidence of U.S. paranoia over Cuba, one need only consult the so-called "Kissinger files," sensitive State Department cables recently made accessible by whistle-blowing outfit WikiLeaks. The correspondence, which dates between 1973 and 1976, underscores Henry Kissinger's single-minded obsession with quarantining Cuba lest Castro's influence be felt far afield.
In late 1973, U.S. diplomats expressed concern about Venezuelan moves to end Cuba's diplomatic isolation, and were particularly worried that Caracas might "put together Organization of American States [OAS] majority in support resolution permitting reestablishment relations with Cuba." Washington was also perturbed by reports that Venezuelan Navy vessels had departed for Cuba in order to load up on large shipments of sugar, and diplomats contemplated a possible cutoff of aid to Caracas in retaliation.
Not only had the State Department grown alarmed about such developments, but rightist anti-Castro exiles were becoming restive as well. According to the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, the exiles were "appalled" at the prospect that COPEI, the current party in power, might renew relations with Cuba. In an ominous move, the exiles planned to publish full page newspaper ads against the COPEI administration. Hoping to punish COPEI at the polls, exiles threw their support to opposing party Acción Democrática (or AD) in the 1973 presidential election. Ultimately, the Americans noted, such support proved critical and "highly influential Cuban-Venezuelan entrepreneurs, backed by Cuban money from Miami" helped AD candidate Carlos Andrés Pérez secure an electoral victory.
The Rise of CAP
If Kissinger or the Cuban exile community however hoped that Pérez, sometimes known simply as "CAP," would prove amenable to their designs they would be sorely disappointed. History has not been kind to CAP, largely due to the latter's second and disastrous presidency which lasted from 1989 to 1993, during which time the veteran politician followed the diktats of the International Monetary Fund and nearly drove Venezuela to the point of social collapse. Nevertheless, during his first incarnation in the 1970s CAP was regarded as a nationalist and something of a galvanizing figure on the Third World circuit. From 1974 to 1979, during his first presidency, CAP nationalized U.S. oil companies and oversaw a program of massive social spending.
More:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nikolas-kozloff/maduro-elections-venezuela_b_3078387.html
