[R-G] CIA Operation "Pliers" Uncovered in Venezuela

[Anthony Fenton]

CIA Operation "Pliers" Uncovered in Venezuela
November 28th 2007, by Eva Golinger
http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/2914

Last night CNN en Español aired the above image, which captions at  
the bottom "Who Killed him?" by "accident". The image of President  
Chavez with the caption about killing him below, which some could say  
subliminally incites to assassination, was a "production error"  
mistakenly made in the CNN en Español newsroom. The news anchor had  
been narrarating a story about the situation between Colombia and  
Venezuela and then switched to a story about an unsolved homicide but  
- oops - someone forgot to change the screen image and President  
Chavez was left with the killing statement below. Today they  
apologized and admitted it was a rather "unfortunate" and  
"regrettable" mistake. Yes, it was.

On a scarier note, an internal CIA memorandum has been obtained by  
Venezuelan counterintelligence from the US Embassy in Caracas that  
reveals a very sinister - almost fantastical, were it not true - plan  
to destabilize Venezuela during the coming days. The plan, titled  
"OPERATION PLIERS" was authored by CIA Officer Michael Middleton  
Steere and was addressed to CIA Director General Michael Hayden in  
Washington. Steere is stationed at the US Embassy in Caracas under  
the guise of a Regional Affairs Officer. The internal memorandum,  
dated November 20, 2007, references the "Advances of the Final Stage  
of Operation Pliers", and confirms that the operation is coordinated  
by the team of Human Intelligence (HUMINT) in Venezuela. The memo  
summarizes the different scenarios that the CIA has been working on  
in Venezuela for the upcoming referendum vote on December 2nd. The  
Electoral Scenario, as it's phrased, confirms that the voting  
tendencies will not change substantially before Sunday, December 2nd,  
and that the SI (YES) vote in favor of the constitutional reform has  
an advantage of about 10-13 points over the NO vote. The CIA  
estimates abstention around 60% and states in the memo that this  
voting tendency is irreversible before the elections.

Officer Steere emphasizes the importance and success of the public  
relations and propaganda campaign that the CIA has been funding with  
more than $8 million during the past month - funds that the CIA  
confirms are transfered through the USAID contracted company,  
Development Alternatives, Inc., which set up operations in June 2002  
to run the USAID Office for Transition Initiatives that funds and  
advises opposition NGOs and political parties in Venezuela. The CIA  
memo specifically refers to these propaganda initiatives as  
"psychological operations" (PSYOPS), that include contracting polling  
companies to create fraudulent polls that show the NO vote with an  
advantage over the SI vote, which is false. The CIA also confirms in  
the memo that it is working with international press agencies to  
distort the data and information about the referendum, and that it  
coordinates in Venezuela with a team of journalists and media  
organized and directed by the President of Globovision, Alberto  
Federico Ravell.

CIA Officer Michael Steere recommends to General Michael Hayden two  
different strategies to work simultaneously: Impede the referendum  
and refuse to recognize the results once the SI vote wins. Though  
these strategies appear contradictory, Steere claims that they must  
be implemented together precisely to encourage activities that aim  
toward impeding the referendum and at the same time prepare the  
conditions for a rejection of the results.

How is this to be done?

In the memo, the CIA proposes the following tactics and actions:

     * Take the streets and protest with violent, disruptive actions  
across the nation
     * Generate a climate of ungovernability
     * Provoke a general uprising in a substantial part of the  
population
     * Engage in a "plan to implode" the voting centers on election  
day by encouraging opposition voters to "VOTE and REMAIN" in their  
centers to agitate others
     * Start to release data during the early hours of the afternoon  
on Sunday that favor the NO vote (in clear violation of election  
regulations)
     * Coordinate these activities with Ravell & Globovision and  
international press agencies
     * Coordinate with ex-militar officers and coupsters Pena Esclusa  
and Guyon Cellis - this will be done by the Military Attache for  
Defense and Army at the US Embassy in Caracas, Office of Defense,  
Attack and Operations (DAO)

To encourage rejection of the results, the CIA proposes:

     * Creating an acceptance in the public opinion that the NO vote  
will win for sure
     * Using polling companies contracted by the CIA
     * Criticize and discredit the National Elections Council
     * Generate a sensation of fraud
     * Use a team of experts from the universities that will talk  
about how the data from the Electoral Registry has been manipulated  
and will build distrust in the voting system

The CIA memo also talks about:

     * Isolating Chavez in the international community
     * Trying to achieve unity amongst the opposition
     * Seek an aliance between those abstentionists and those who  
will vote "NO"
     * Sustain firmly the propaganda against Chavez
     * Execute military actions to support the opposition  
mobilizations and propagandistic occupations
     * Finalize the operative preparations on the US military bases  
in Curacao and Colombia to provide support to actions in Venezuela
     * Control a part of the country during the next 72-120 hours
     * Encourage a military rebellion inside the National Guard  
forces and other components

Those involved in these actions as detailed in the CIA memo are:

     * The CIA Office in Venezuela - Office of Regional Affairs, and  
Officer Michael Steere
     * US Embassy in Venezuela, Ambassador Patrick Duddy
     * Office of Defense, Attack and Operations (DAO) at the US  
Embassy in Caracas and Military Attache Richard Nazario

Venezuelan Political Parties:

     * Comando Nacional de la Resistencia
     * Accion Democratica
     * Primero Justicia
     * Bandera Roja

Media:

     * Alberto Federico Ravell & Globovision
     * Interamerican Press Society (IAPA) or SIP in Spanish
     * International Press Agencies

Venezuelans:

     * Pena Esclusa
     * Guyon Cellis
     * Dean of the Simon Bolivar University, Rudolph Benjamin Podolski
     * Dean of the Andres Bello Catholic University, Ugalde
     * Students: Yon Goicochea, Juan Mejias, Ronel Gaglio, Gabriel  
Gallo, Ricardo Sanchez

Operation Tenaza has the objective of encouraging an armed  
insurrection in Venezuela against the government of President Chavez  
that will justify an intervention of US forces, stationed on the  
military bases nearby in Curacao and Colombia. The Operation mentions  
two countries in code: as Blue and Green. These refer to Curacao and  
Colombia, where the US has operative, active and equipped bases that  
have been reinforced over the past year and a half in anticipation of  
a conflict with Venezuela.

The document confirms that psychological operations are the CIA's  
best and most effective weapon to date against Venezuela, and it will  
continue its efforts to influence international public opinion  
regarding President Chavez and the situation in the country.

Operation Tenaza is a very alarming plan that aims to destabilize  
Venezuela and overthrow (again) its legitimate and democratic (and  
very popularly support) president. The plan will fail, primarily  
because it has been discovered, but it must be denounced around the  
world as an unacceptable violation of Venezuela's sovereignty.

The original document in English will be available in the public  
sphere soon for viewing and authenticating purposes. And it also  
contains more information than has been revealed here.