The Internet is alive and well.  It is used for a multitude of reasons.  Some use it to support democracy, peace and justice and others use it for corporate and self-interest.  Earlier today, we received correspondence from one Gustavo Coronel, who writes on behalf of those who would bring down the administration of President Hugo Chavez in Venezuela.  He was responding to my commentary on an article we published yesterday, authored by Carlos Herrera and originally published in VHeadline. 

In his letter to me, Coronel attacked Herrera as "nonperson ... hiding behind a Venezuelan name".  As outsiders to Venezuela, it has been our observation that this type of ad-hominem attack and name-calling is typical of many who write on behalf of the opposition in Venezuela.  We published Mr. Coronel's letter in "From our Readers" along with my reply.  Since his letter included this attack on Mr. Herrera, we thought it only fair to include Carlos Herrera's reply.

Our research shows that Mr. Coronel wrote to us from the domain of The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP). - gcoronel@ceip.org - and works in service to this U.S. institution. The CEIP publishes Foreign Policy Magazine (FPM), one of the world's leading magazines of international politics and economics which reaches readers in more than 120 countries and several languages. Moises Naim is Editor and Publisher of FPM and is also one of the six members of Time Magazine’s International Board of Economists. Based upon information obtained today by Axis of Logic, it appears that Mr. Coronel, obtained his job from Mr. Naim.  Mr. Coronel claims to be a resident of Venezuela 90% of his time, but also works in opposition to the Venezuelan government and is funded by this U.S. institution in Washington, D.C.  Also, it is not lost on us that Venezuela is among the top 4 oil producers in the world and has fallen in disfavor with the U.S. government.

This information is particularly of interest given the other funding and support received by the those who oppose the Venezuelan government democracy from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).  The NED is another U.S. institution that funds the opposition to help bring down the Chavez government.  Terms like "Endowment for Democracy" and "Endowment for International Peace" require close scrutiny.   In correspondence we received today from Andres Izarra, Information Minister in the Chavez government. Izarra stated that Gustavo Coronel has joined US Foreign Policy as Director of Corporate Programs and will be traveling extensively in Latin America and to other regions putting together special reports for FPM and its sponsors.

We provide this background on Mr. Coronel not as a personal attack on him, but rather to help our readers understand how deeply U.S. tenacles reach into those who would overthrow Venezuela's democratically-elected president, Hugo Chavez.  Axis of Logic stands firmly on the rights of independence and self-determination of every nation-state. Interference with the domestic affairs with any foreign nation is morally wrong and in violation of international law, dating back to the 1648 Westphalian Treaty.  Mr. Herrera's reply to Mr. Coronel follows. - Les Blough, Editor

Letter from Carlos Hererra to Gustav Coronel

Dear Mr. Coronel,

Further to the exchange of messages today between yourself, Les Blough and Roy Carson, copied to me, I would like to comment the following.

Your reference to me as a "foreign mercenary" is way off target. The only mercenary in this e-mail exchange is Gustavo Coronel, living in Washington and doing all he can to contribute to the overthrow of the democratically elected Bolivarian government.

Your strategy is simple – discredit the government in any way possible, so as to contribute via the written word to cause chaos and ungovernability, with the ultimate aim of an armed conflict either using Plan Colombia and/or an invasion of the US marines on the pretext that they "have to protect" oil supplies in Venezuela, as the country is now ungovernable.

Just as you did not protest when the Carmona fascists removed the picture of the Libertador from Salon Ayacucho in Miraflores Palace on 12th April 2002, you will not protest when Zulia tries to split away from Venezuela using US backing in the form of Plan Colombia – in a similar exercise as they did with Panama at the beginning of the 20th century. Your patriotism is at best skin deep, but in reality non-existent.

Les Blough is very respectful to you, although firm in his words, in my case I find it difficult to adopt this approach with people who supported the oil industry sabotage, which caused the death of innocent Venezuelans due to the gasoline shortage, without mentioning the nazi stratregy of cutting off food supplies to cause a "famine", which you and your fascist cohorts expected to result in riots, chaos, ungovernability and US intervention for the reasons stated above.

You have implemented this disinformation campaign, as the US did in Nicaragua in the 1980’s, and would feel yourself somehow vindicated when we Venezuelans start killing each other in a civil war, since your strategic aim would have been accomplished.

Even though you cannot be held personally responsible for the death of innocent people during the two month sabotage (you do not even know who they are!!!), your silence reflects just what a cold, inhuman, Treblinka mentality you and other opposition activists operating in the Internet have. The poor do not exist in your scheme of things.

Why have you not written something on the innocent dead in the strike? What is the difference between wthat the US forces did in Fallujah, and what happened here? Different methods, but with fatal victims, ergo same result.

Your insistence on repeating, along with Boyd, the anonymous editor of Venezuela Today, who will not be anonymous much longer, that Roy Carson is myself, and vice versa is, frankly, your problem. I personally, do not care what you think in that sense. The main point is that your disinformation will not have a free run into home plate.

If you think that I am going to put my head above the wall, so that I can be physically attacked in Caracas, instead of "ONLY" receving death threats and insults from the psychotically dissociated fascists who send such messages, to me and directly threaten my family, I am afraid to say that you are gravely mistaken. I’m not stupid you know.

My defense of the Bolivarian revolution will continue in the Internet and I intend to encourage other compatriotas to participate. You feel hurt since the truth is merciless when written in direct terms. I am afraid it is the price you are paying for being a traitor to democracy, your homeland and to the people of Venezuela.

Finally, I sincerely hope for your sake that you have not received funds, even disguised, from the US government or CIA funded front organizations. Sooner or later this will be discovered, and as a law abiding citizen, I would be obliged to denounce this with written evidence, to the Venezuelan Interior Ministry since this could well be illegal under Venezuelan law, with a resulting jail sentence.

I will not be entering into any further correspondence either with you, Boyd, Duquenal, Miguel Octavio or any other opposition figures, so do not bother writing.

Carlos Herrera

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