Venezuela convinced of US invasion

September 4, 2005 - 5:49AM


Venezuela has uncovered plans for a US-led invasion and is preparing to defend the country against invading forces if necessary, President Hugo Chavez said in a report carried by the state-run news agency.

The Bolivarian News Agency reported that Chavez made the comments during an interview with CNN. It was unclear when the interview was to be aired.

"If it occurs to the United States to invade our country - Fidel Castro said it and I agree - a war will start here to last 100 years," Chavez was quoted as saying. "Not only this country would be burned up, but a good part of this continent; they shouldn't make any mistake about it, we are preparing to repel an invasion."

Chavez has made similar claims in the past, and US officials have repeatedly denied them as ridiculous. Venezuela is the world's fifth largest oil exporter and a major supplier of fuel to the US.

"We discovered through intelligence work a military exercise that NATO has of an invasion against Venezuela, and we are preparing ourselves for that invasion," Chavez was quoted as saying.

He said the military exercise is known as Plan Balboa and includes rehearsing simultaneous assaults by air, sea and land at a military base in Spain, involving troops from the US and NATO countries. US officials in the past have said such training is meant to prepare troops for general scenarios but not for a specify military action.

The state news agency, commonly known as ABN for its initials in Spanish, said according to Chavez the invasion plan focuses on western Venezuela and also includes a wave of bombings over Caracas and the cities of Maracay and Valencia.

"It's known they have everything planned out to capture the oilfields of the west and the east, the south," Chavez was quoted as saying.

Chavez repeated his threat that if the government of US President George W Bush were to attempt an attack, his government would immediately cut off oil shipments to the US. For this reason, it's important there is an effort to improve relations, Chavez said, according to ABN.

"It isn't us who should take the first step; the aggressor is the one that should show it is capable of sending some signal," Chavez was quoted as saying.

"The signal we have sent is enough: express our willingness to recover diplomatic, political relations, at least to the normal level that existed not long ago with the government of president Bill Clinton."

Tensions have grown in recent months between Chavez, who has emerged as a leading voice of the Latin American left, and a US government that has expressed concern about his close ties to Castro and what Chavez's opponents call an authoritarian streak.

The former army paratroop commander accuses the US government of backing a shortlived coup against him in 2002, another claim that US officials have repeatedly denied. Chavez, who was first elected in 1998, is up for reelection next year, and polls suggest he is strongly favoured to win.

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Venezuela has almost as much oil as Iraq
Big Oil wants to take it out and not give too much back.
The wealthy oligarchs enjoy their lives opulently
While most Venezuelan people live in abject poverty.

Chavez was elected promising to help the poor
Big Oil wasn't paying much; Venezuela wanted more.
Of billions that they took in oil they paid a small percent
Big Oil fat-cats' wallets is where most of the money went.

Bush and all his big-oil friends said, "Now what do we do?"
Bush sent the CIA down there to orchestrate a coup.
For two days no one knew where Hugo Chavez Frias went
In 24 hours Bush welcomed Venezuela's "New Government"

Outraged millions filled the streets, protesting emphatically
For return of the leader they elected democratically.
Egg on face, with damage control the issue then most pressing,
Condaleezza Rice said, "I hope Chavez learned his lesson!"

Next US helped the opposition organize a recall
It worked with Schwarzenegger, they could get Chavez to fall!
Venezuelans by the millions stood for hours to have their say,
Overwhelmingly the country said their President could stay. Chavez didn't hesitate to put his plans in action.
He drives US and Oil Interests deeply to distraction.
His country provides a lot of oil to our United States,
He promises it will be cut off if Bush assassinates.
Now Bush's people on TV paint Hugo as a mad-man.
"Why should he acquire weapons? Only the US can!"
More Venezuelans reading, more children having food,
The idle rich may be irate, but for more people life is good.


It won't stop Bush from trying, though, to lie to you and me
And tell us Chavez is a threat to true democracy.
Why shouldn't Chavez try to protect his nation from attack?
He saw the lies that led to the invasion of Iraq.