Francisco Chavez Abarca, who was recently extradited to Cuba, has admitted being contracted by Cuban-born terrorist Luis Posada Carriles to carry out destabilising acts in Venezuela in the lead-up to the September National Assembly elections.
Posada Carriles is a former CIA agent wanted for his role in a 1976 attack on a Cuban plane that left 73 passengers dead. He lives in Miami. The US government, going against international law, has refused Venezuelan and Cuban requests to extradite him.
Chavez Abarca was arrested when arrived at Caracas international airport on July 8 after it was discovered an Interpol arrest warrant out for him.
Footage of Chavez Abarca being interviewed by Venezuela’s Bolivarian Intelligence Service (SEDIN) was obtained by the regional Telesur TV network. The footage showed Chavez Abarca admitting his superior was Posada Carriles.
Chavez Abarca allegedly came to Venezuela to help plan actions to sabotage the left-wing government of President Hugo Chavez in the September poll.
Asked what sort of actions, Chavez Abarca said: “Riots in the streets ... tyre burning ... the other thing that could be done is attack one political party ... so the [pro-Chavez] parties start fighting.”
A key strategy of the US-backed right-wing opposition in recent years before elections has been to cause violent riots, as well as help manufacture a scarcity of certain food items.
This has been combined with media campaigns to create a sense of dissatisfaction and insecurity among the Venezuelan population.
Venezuela has deported Chavez Abarca to Cuba to face charges over his role in a series of bombings of Cuban hotels in the 1990s.
A July 15 Venezuelanalysis.com article said Venezuelan Minister for Internal Affairs Tarek El Aissami announced the arrest of opposition figure Alejandro Pena Esclusa after police allegedly found explosive materials in his home during a raid on July 12.
The raid was carried out based on information from Chavez Abarca.
El Aissami said the explosive materials found during the raid included 900 grams of C-4, electronic and thermal detonating devices and documents detailing plans for destabilising Venezuela in the coming period.
Esclusa is president of the Union of Democratic Organisations of the Americas (UnoAmerica), one of the few Latim American groups that celebrated the 2009 military coup in Honduras. In a July 10 interview, Esclusa said: “Only a process similar to that of Honduras can rescue democracy and freedom in Venezuela.”
[Abridged from Venezuela Analysis.]