Operation Pliers
Operation Pliers, also known as Operación Tenaza or Operation Pincers is the name of an alleged CIA plan to incite insurrection following the December 2, 2007 referendum on constitutional changes in Venezuela. According to the Venezuelan government, the plan was discovered in an internal memo uncovered by Venezuelan counter-intelligence operatives on November 26, 2007;[citation needed] thus far the text of the memo has been published in Spanish only. The memo purports to be a communication from a CIA officer named Michael Middleton Steere, employed at the US embassy in Caracas, to CIA Director General Michael Hayden in Washington, D.C. It allegedly details measures taken and planned to destabilize Venezuela during and after the referendum. The document is dated November 20.[1]
Alleged plan[edit]
Curaçao and Colombia[edit]
Military measures are mentioned, coordination with ex-military officers and "coupsters" Pena Esclusa and Guyon Cellis through the Military Attaché for Defense and Army at the US Embassy in Caracas Defense Attaché Office (DAO), encouraging a possible military rebellion inside the National Guard. The document also mentions a possible US attack of Venezuela by asking to complete the operative preparations on the US military bases in Curaçao and Colombia to provide support to actions in Venezuela.[2][better source needed][3][dead link][4]
US and Venezuelan response[edit]
Venezuelan response[edit]
The response of the Venezuelan government to the alleged discovery of the memo has been to attempt to dissuade the US from bringing the plan into action by threatening to cut off oil supplies if it does so.[5][dead link]
US response[edit]
The US has called Venezuelan accusations of a CIA conspiracy "ridiculous" [1]. According to the International Herald Tribune, an embassy spokesman said "We reject and are disappointed in the Venezuelan government's allegations that the United States is involved in any type of conspiracy to affect the outcome of the constitutional referendum" and a CIA spokesman called the memo "a fake".[6][dead link]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on December 1, 2007. Retrieved December 1, 2007. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help)CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link) - ↑ "Atinachile.cl - Un lugar para hablar de política". Atina Chile. Archived from the original on December 2, 2007. Retrieved December 1, 2007. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Ultimas destacadas - UPI en Español". espanol.upi.com.
- ↑ "Chavez urges reform for Venezuela". December 1, 2007 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
- ↑ "Top News, Latest headlines, Latest News, World News & U.S News - UPI.com". UPI.
- ↑ "Breaking News, World News & Multimedia". www.iht.com.
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