Professor Believes FBI Grilled Him for His Political Beliefs on Venezuela

A Pomona College professor who is an outspoken critic of U.S. policy in Venezuela was questioned Tuesday by two agents from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) in what he calls an act of intimidation.

The detectives visited Miguel Tinker-Salas during his office hours at about 2:40 or 2:45 pm Tuesday. They questioned him for about 20 minutes in his office at Pomona College in Claremont, Calif. The detectives identified themselves but their names are being withheld at the request of the FBI.

According to Tinker-Salas, the agents told him they were interested in the Venezuelan community and concerned that it may be involved in terrorism. They asked him if he had relationships with the Venezuelan embassy or consulate, and if anyone in the Venezuelan government had asked him to speak out about Venezuela-related matters.

“They were fishing,” says Tinker-Salas, “to intimidate and silence those who have a critical analysis of U.S. foreign policy.”

After they left, several students outside Tinker-Salas’ office told him the detectives had asked them about his background, his classes and his politics, and even took note of the cartoons on his door.

Tinker-Salas says the detectives told him this was part of a larger policy to interview people on various campuses. He does not know if other professors have been questioned. He says the agents who visited him did not interview the other Venezuelan-born professor at Pomona College.

The FBI declined to comment on the incident.

A Latin American and Chicano histories professor, Tinker-Salas believes he was targeted as a result of his outspoken politics regarding the U.S. policy toward Venezuela and Latin America. Tinker-Salas was born in Venezuela and is a U.S. citizen, having lived in the United States since high school. A noted historian and commentator on CNN en Español, he has been open about his conditional support for the democratically elected government of President Hugo Chavez and critical of the U.S. attempt to “undermine democracy” in Latin America.

According to the ACLU of Colorado, the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, which operates across the country, is violating First Amendment rights by equating nonviolent protest with domestic terrorism.

“The FBI is unjustifiably treating nonviolent public protest as though it were domestic terrorism,” said Mark Silverstein, Legal Director of the Colorado ACLU, following the release of new documents obtained from the FBI under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) on Dec. 8, 2005.

“The FBI’s misplaced priorities threaten to deter legitimate criticism of government policy while wasting taxpayer resources that should be directed to investigating real terrorists.”

Original Source: New America Media

Venezuelan Women March Against US Invasion of Iraq

Caracas, Venezuela, March 9, 2006—Protest-ready Venezuelans took to the streets yesterday in support of International Women’s Day and to protest the U.S. invasion of Iraq. The march began at 9am, as people in red shirts gather in Chacaito, dancing and chanting against the war and lasted throughout the afternoon when activists reached the US embassy in Caracas.

Their goal was to present the embassy with a statement against the war. According to a Ministry of Communications press release, more than 2 million signatures, which will be kept in the Family, Woman, and Youth Commission until the war is over, have been collected supporting the statement.

The document against the war was produced on behalf of Venezuela’s 167 National Assembly Members, according to the statement. National Assembly Deputy and President of its Domestic Policy Commission Cilia Flores spoke of her support of the petition. “Today…we, the Venezuelan women, have taken the initiative to raise our voices in protest. We are rejecting the war against Iraq, that, more than being a war, is a bloody invasion…This is the reason that brings us to approve an agreement in the heart of the national assembly,” she said.

Others at the march were equally vehement in their opposition to the war. The theme, “I will not raise my child to kill yours,” was visible throughout.

"We want [the Bush administration] to realize the mistake [it’s] making," state television worker Yeyinol Sifontes, told Reuters. "I wouldn't want my children to go to battle just for some economic benefits."

Lilian Cova echoed Sifontes’ sentiments. "What Bush wants is oil and that's why he invaded Iraq. We don't want any more war for oil—not in Iraq or anywhere in the world,” she told the AP.

Ambassador William Brownfield was not present to accept the statement. Instead, embassy spokeswoman Salome Hernandez received the document, and, according to the AP, gave protesters packets of information about Iraq, including a photo of Chavez with Saddam Hussein from 2000.

[No mention was made if the photograph of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld shaking hands with Hussein in 1983, the same year the Iraqi government massacred members of the Kurdish Barzani tribe, was included.]

British Parliament Debate Supports Chavez's Venezuela

Caracas, Venezuela, March 9, 2006—Yesterday afternoon the British Parliament held a debate about UK policy towards Venezuela. Many British Members of Parliament, or MPs, spoke in support of the government of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. MP Jeremy Corbyn said, “the people of Venezuela are overwhelmingly behind a President who promises to use the nation’s wealth to conquer poverty.”

Colin Burgon, Labour Party MP for Elthem, called for the debate on Venezuela and got nearly 100 other MPs to support it. The debate was held to try and clear up what the UK position is to Venezuela and how it is different from the US.

On Februrary 9, Burgon asked British Prime Minister Tony Blair about Venezuela during the Prime Minister’s weekly question and answer session. Should Britain follow a, “Right-wing US Republican agenda,” towards left wing Latin American governments like Venezuela’s, asked Burgon.

Blair responding saying it was important, “the government of Venezuela realise that if they want to be respected members of the international community they should abide by the rules of the international community.” Venezuela’s alliance with Cuba would be better if Cuba was, “a properly functioning democracy,” Blair also said.

Chavez responded saying, “you don’t have the morality to go telling me anything, you who disrespects international law and the sovereignty of the people of Iraq.” Blair’s comments were, “the opening of the European front,” of Washington’s effort to isolate Venezuela internationally, said Chavez.

In yesterday’s debate Burgon said Blair’s comment was, “more than disappointing, and it created a minor political tsunami.” That day’s meeting was held to give the British Labour Government an opportunity, “to clarify their policy towards Venezuela and clear up any confusion,” said Burgon.

About 14 MPs from the three main political parties spoke in the debate. The majority of them made positive comments about the work of the Venezuelan government. The main points they focused on were the strategic interests Britain has with Venezuela as well as the need for the UK to support social justice and democracy in Venezuela and Latin America.

Colin Burgon and several other MPs mentioned Venezuela and Britain’s mutual material interests. Venezuela is the UK’s third largest market in Latin America. The huge oil and mineral wealth Venezuela possesses was also highlighted.

That British business is the fifth largest foreign direct investor in Venezuela was also mentioned. One of the few critics of the Venezuelan Government in the debate, Conservative MP Mark Pritchard focused on the issue of the Venezuelan investment climate.

Pritchard said Chavez was endangering a safe investment climate in the country with his anti-capitalist “rhetoric.” The Venezuelan President’s comments about the UK returning the Falkland Islands were “disturbing,” said the Conservative MP.

The majority of the other MPs present rejected Pritchard’s comments and made statements in support of Venezuela’s new model of development. Labour MP Jon Trickett was one of many to praise Venezuela’s rejection of neo-liberal policies and focus on social justice.

Liberal Democrat MP Paul Keetch said “Many residents in the poorest areas of Venezuela now have access to basic health care, whereas before they had nothing.” A long list of the democratic, economic, and social achievements of the Venezuelan process were made by the John McDonnell, Labour MP.

McDonell, who is also the Chair of the UK solidarity campaign, “Hands Off Venezuela,” highlighted the major liberating role women play in the changes taking place in Venezuela.

A common theme was that the UK should distance itself from the US position towards Venezuela. Conservative MP Daniel Kawczynski said this was especially so when senior Republicans, such as Pat Robertson, were calling for the assassination of Chavez.

The government should treat all elected governments, “with equal respect and the US right-wing fundamentalists should desist from efforts to destabilise the democratically elected Chavez Government”, said Burgon.

None of the MPs in the debate claimed Venezuela was an authoritarian state or that it does not respect democracy or human rights. Keetch said that Chavez had politicised the judiciary to an extent but that this was a lesson, “learned from Washington and is not unusual in the Americas.”

The Government Spokesperson and Minister for the Middle East, Kim Howells, was largely very positive about Venezuela. Howells praised the Venezuelan “free press,” and, “vibrant news media, that are not afraid to reflect the concerns of people from all parts of society.”

Howells confirmed that Venezuela has been showing the UK, “tremendous co-operation,” with combating the international drug trade. The UK and Venezuela worked closely together to recently hold the first meeting of Latin America, Caribbean and EU drugs observatories in Caracas, said Howells.

The UK would not, “shy away from criticism when we judge it to be necessary,” said Howells, “but our policy remains to seek constructive engagement with Venezuela. We have much to gain from working together.”

The purpose of Parliamentary adjournment debates is to hold the relevant government Minister to account on important subjects. All questions asked to the Minister must be answered. The debates have no direct policy implications but make the government go on the record about particular policies.

Britain is the European country that has shown the most solidarity with Venezuela. The British Trade Union Congress, representing 6.7 million workers, is the only national trade union federation to have passed a motion in support of the Venezuelan process.

UK-based Venezuela solidarity groups have been very active in lobbying trade unionists and MPs in Britain about the Venezuelan situation. They have worked continuously to gathering and share information about Venezuela with UK policy makers.

Venezuela Aviation Authority Plays Hardball With U.S. FAA

Caracas, Venezuela March 9, 2006—“Welcome to AeroMéxico,” the flight attendant greets passengers heading onto a flight from Atlanta to Mexico City.

“That’s funny,” some of them must be thinking. “I could have sworn I bought my ticket from Continental.”

Arrangements that allow airlines to sell tickets to each other’s flights as if they were their own, known as code-sharing agreements, are now a common and increasingly important business arrangement for airlines. Under the accords, passengers buying a ticket to Continental, for example, can find themselves on any flight of Continental’s partners.

Such agreements are subject to government approval, which is generally received when countries have been certified to meet International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) standards. However, countries that are not found to meet these standards are ineligible to take part in these accords. Among other drawbacks is a prohibition to increase flights to the United States until IASA standards are met, and a mandate that airlines rent aircraft from a country that’s received a category 1 rating.

The revocation of Venezuela’s category 1 rating in 1995 is at the center of a recent tiff between Caracas and Washington. Venezuela’s aviation authority claims this decade old categorization is unfair and that improvements to its airlines over the years have been ignored. Indeed, according to Les Dorr, a spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Venezuela hasn’t been reassessed in over a decade. But reassessments are generally only preformed for category 2 countries when the FAA is confident they will pass.

So, Venezuela has taken a hard-line stance: If the US doesn’t change its status by the end of the month, it will sharply decrease the number of flights allowed by US carriers into the country. This was a concession from a February 24 statement, which would have cut flights by March 1.

The list of countries that don’t meet IASA standards is certainly not a political one. Not only Venezuela, but Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras and Paraguay—all of which enjoy far more cordial relations with the US than Caracas—are on the list. But as with seemingly all dealings between the US and Venezuela, it has become politicized. The ultimatum came just a week after Condoleezza Rice announced that the US was striving to create a “united front” against Venezuela, and left State Department officials considering options for an “appropriate response.”

Venezuela’s sentiments that the US has been treating it unfairly have been reinforced by its placement (alongside only Burma) on the 2005 list of countries decertified as allies in the US’s war on drugs, despite an increase in drug confiscations; and as one of a handful of countries not doing enough to fight human trafficking. In both cases, the country faces sanctions.

But as Venezuela moves to pay off its loans to International Financial Institutions, the implemented sanctions—unrelated to trade—have little effect on the country. The airplane ban, by contrast, seems to be making an impact. Or, at least, with three major carriers actively supporting the action, Venezuelan airlines are eagerly awaiting to expand service to the US.

Venezuela’s category one status was originally revoked, according to the Venezuelan government newswire Agencia Bolivariana de Noticias, because the country lacked a civil aviation law, resources for the bodies responsible for exercising control duties and operational security surveillance, and properly trained personnel. However, the news agency says, last July Venezuela enacted the new Law of Civil Aeronautics, and the civil aviation authorities have carried out changes to improve the infrastructure, security, and training of aviation personnel. In 2004, the International Civil Aviation Organization said that Venezuela fulfilled 89 percent of the international norms and requirements to operate commercially in foreign markets, including the United States.

FAA spokesperson Dorr explained Venezuela’s ongoing category 2 status. “Over the years we’ve worked with Venezuela extensively to try to help them out, as we do with other category 2 countries, and it really just never came together,” he said.

But Venezuela’s hard-line stance may payoff. Dorr, and State Department spokesperson Amanda Rogers-Harper, said that talks are now in place to look into the possibility of reassessing Venezuela’s status in the coming months, after the 10 year gap. Neither could say if these talks began before or after Venezuela had threatened to cut back flights by US airlines.

Venezuela has received at least one vote of confidence on the matter. Peter Dolara, Vice President of American Airlines for the Caribbean, South America and Mexico told Venezuelan Daily El Nacional, “We believe that the FAA, when it has the chance to do an audit, will be pleasantly surprised with what they find…today Maiquetía [Venzuela’s main international airport] is one of the best run airports in the world.”

Chavez Accuses State Governor of Seeking To Secede from Venezuela

Zulia State governor Manuel Rosales
Credit: AP

Caracas, Venezuela, March 8, 2006—Claims of separatist efforts have been going back and forth between the government and the Venezuelan state of Zulia since Sunday. President Hugo Chavez said the US was, “trying to give form to a secessionist movement, of course, to take control of the great oil wealth there.”

A group in Zulia called Rumbo Propio, meaning “Our Own Path” in English, want a referendum in October for autonomy in the Western Venezuelan state. Zulia contains Lake Maracaibo, where 40% of Venezuela’s national oil reserves are located.

Chavez said on his weekly Sunday TV show, Alo Presidente, the opposition Governor of Zulia state, Manuel Rosales was helping US President George W Bush encourage, “a separatist movement so that the United States may benefit from the state’s significant oil resources.”

The Venezuela State Prosecutor, Isaias Rodriguez said yesterday initial investigations have not found a direct connection between the US and the alleged separatists. The same investigation has not shown a link to the Governor of Zulia either.

Julio Chávez, a National Assembly Deputy for the pro-government PPT party said that separatist groups should be tried for “high treason” under articles 128 and 129 of the constitution.

The government has, “obtained good information” about the separatist movements and, “may undertake other action in addition to a criminal investigation,” said Rodriguez.

The government’s claims that Zulia wants independence from Venezuela are a, “smoke screen” to distract from other problems, Governor Rosales said. “Zulia is not a peninsula, much less an island apart. Zulia is Venezuela and we’re Venezuelans,” he added.

Rosales is one of only two opposition governors in Venezuela. Very popular in Zulia, Rosales has been considered a potential presidential candidate against Chavez for the December elections. In Zulia, welfare missions very similar to the government’s are run by Rosales’ state government.

Rumbo Propio’s President Néstor Suárez has denied his group wants Zulian independence from Venezuela. They want the state to have a President instead of a governor and a Senate to make law and run, “physical security more efficiently,” Suarez said.

The Chavez has said Zulia would be the focus of a US invasion of the country. According to him, Venezuelan intelligence discovered a US invasion plan called “Plan Balboa” that showed this.

The US Embassy denied any involvement with separatist groups in Venezuela. A US Embassy Spokesperson said, “To the best of our knowledge, Ambassador Brownfield has not met with these people.”

Bordering Colombia, Zulia has historically had a strong sense or regional identity. Several times since the 1820s Zulia has tried to become independent.

Inflation in Venezuela Falls 0.4% in February

A 14 percent drop in the price of non-manufactured food helped lead to the biggest monthly decrease in inflation since 1988, according to Venezuela’s Central Bank.

Consumer inflation, which, for Venezuela, is measured in the Caracas metropolitan area, fell overall by 0.4 percent in February, driven down by the 4.0 percent decrease in cost of food.

Prices, which fell overall by 0.4 percent in February, were driven down by the 4.0 percent decrease in cost of food.

Between 2000 and February of 2003, when price controls on some basic foods were implemented, the price of food and non alcoholic beverages had risen 13 percent above the overall rate of inflation, a contrast to previous years, where food prices were rising at 10 percent below the overall rate of inflation.  Since the implementation of price controls, the prices have risen at 3.8 percent below the overall rate of inflation.

Government price controls for basic foods have been controversial, with critics arguing that the controls will lead to food shortages, which have occurred for relatively short periods of time with specific goods. A notable exception was coffee, which was sold out of supermarkets for weeks during a dispute between coffee processors and government which resulted in an increase in the coffee retail price.

After high inflation through the mid 90s, it dropped steadily until the 2002 coup and 2002-3 oil industry shutdown during which inflation was driven up over 30 percent. Since then inflation has been generally decreasing, bringing inflation over the past 12 months to 12.5 percent.