Cuba And Venezuela
Face
The US And Colombia
By James Petras
23 March, 2005
Counterpunch
Cuba's
living example of 45 years of successful resistance to US military aggression
and economic boycott is extremely damaging to Washington's goal of world
empire for several reasons. In the first place Cuba's success refutes
the notion put forth by the "center-left" that "small",
"undeveloped" countries cannot resist imperial powers, or
sustain a revolution in the face of "globalization". Secondly
the survival of the Cuban revolution refutes the idea that Caribbean
or Latin American countries located proximate to the US must conform
to the dictates of Washington. Thirdly, Cuba demonstrates that the US
empire is not invincible Cuba has defeated almost all major aggressive
military, political and diplomatic attacks.
Diplomatically,
Cuba is recognized by almost all countries in the world, and receives
the support of over 150 countries (versus 3 for the US) in opposition
to the US embargo in the United Nations. Economically, Cuba has trade
and investment relations with all major European, Asian, African, Latin
American and North American nations (except the US). Militarily, the
Cuban armed forces and intelligence agencies have defeated every US-sponsored
terrorist attack on the islands for the past half-century in addition
to raising the political cost for any potential invasion. In response
to a half century of failures, the Bush Administration has escalated
its aggression: practically eliminating all US travel to Cuba, blocking
almost all family remittances, and tightening trade restrictions on
food and medicine. While these harsh measures have had some negative
effects on Cuba, they have also provoked opposition among some conservative
sectors of the US public. Many Cuban exiles who would normally support
Bush have been antagonized because they cannot provide economic assistance
to aging family members. Agricultural interests (from 38 states) which
supported Bush are furious at the new restriction on trade. Liberal
and conservative enemies of the Cuban revolution who hoped to subvert
the revolution via cultural and ideological penetration are upset by
the travel and cultural restrictions.
In other words the
harsher and more extreme the measures adopted by the Bush Administration
against Cuba the greater Washington's isolation. This is true externally
as well as internally. Let us examine several illustrations.
The US exploited
the jailing of over 70 US paid propagandists, labeling them "political
dissidents", initially securing the support of the European Union.
A year later, the EU has broken with Washington and renewed and expanded
its cultural and economic ties with Cuba.
While the US tightens
its trade embargo, Cuban trade and investment ties with China and the
rest of Asia, Venezuela and the rest of Latin America, Canada and Europe
have expanded and deepened. The US restrictions on family remittances
has been weakened by family members sending money via "third countries
such as Mexico, Canada, Dominican Republic etc. Canadian, European,
Latin American and Asian visitors have topped 2 million annually and
new influxes of investment have made up for most of the shortfall from
the restrictions on remittances.
Finally Washington's
attempts to limit Cuba's access to energy sources after the fall of
the USSR have been defeated by the far-reaching trade and investment
agreements with the Venezuelan government of President Chavez. The Chavez
regime provides Cuba with petrol at subsidized prices in exchange for
Cuba providing a vast health and education program for the poor of Venezuela.
The Cuban-Venezuelan political and economic ties have undercut US efforts
to force the Caribbean and Latin American countries to break with Cuba.
As a result of past and present failed policies of directly attacking
Cuba, the Bush administration has turned toward destroying Cuba's strategic
alliance with the Chavez regime.
The Two Stage Strategy
US strategy toward
destroying the Cuban revolution is increasingly following a "two
step" approach: first overthrow the Chavez government in Venezuela,
cut off the energy supply and trade links and then proceed toward economic
strangulation and military attack. The "two step" strategy
against Cuba, involves the elaboration of a calibrated action plan to
overthrow the Chavez government.
Washington's anti-Chavez
efforts up till 2005 have resulted in severe defeats. These efforts
have largely been based on an "insider" approach, utilizing
the local ruling class, sectors of the army and the corrupt trade union
bureaucracy. Not only have Washington's domestic instruments been defeated
but they have been severely weakened for future use. Washington's support
for the failed military coup resulted in the loss of several hundred
counter-revolutionary officers who were forced to resign. Bush's support
for the petroleum elite's lockout led to the expulsion of thousands
of oil officials allied with Washington. The defeat of the referendum
to expel Chavez, mobilized, politicized and radicalized millions of
poor Venezuelans and demoralized Washington's middle class supporters.
The result of these failed policies has been to turn Washington's attention
to an "outsider" strategy: the key to which is incremental
military intervention in association with the terrorist Uribe regime
in Colombia.
The US strategy
against Cuba involves a joint US-Colombian attack of Venezuela backed
by internal terrorists and the ruling class. This indirect attack on
Cuba, involves complex, external preparation in cooperation with Colombia.
First of all Washington and Uribe have greatly strengthened military
bases surrounding the Venezuelan border. Secondly "trial military
incursions" involving both Colombian military and paramilitary
forces occur on a regular basis testing Venezuelan defenses. In
2004 six Venezuelan soldiers were killed, a number of Venezuelan officials
were bribed to kidnap a Colombian resistance leader and numerous cross
border attacks killing and kidnapping Colombian refugees took place
in Venezuela. Thirdly the US has provided nearly $3 billion dollars
in military aid to Colombia, tripled the size of its armed forces (to
over 275,000), greatly increased its air force combat units (helicopters,
fighter bombers), provided advanced military technology and several
thousand official and "contracted" military specialists. Fourthly
Washington has recruited the Gutierrez regime in Ecuador, invaded Haiti,
established military bases in Peru and the Dominican Republic, and has
engaged in navy maneuvers just off the Venezuelan coast in preparation
for a military attack.Fifthly Colombia (under US tutelage) signed a
joint military-intelligence cooperation agreement on December 18, 2004
with the Venezuelan Ministry of Defense, providing the US with "inside
information" and serving as a possible source of infiltration of
the Venezuelan Armed Forces to counter pro-Cuban officers.
The Triangular Strategy
The US is relying
on a "triangular strategy" to overthrow the Chavez regime:
A military invasion from Colombia, US intervention (air and sea attacks
plus special forces to assassinate key officials) and an internal uprising
by infiltrated terrorists and military traitors, supported by key media,
financial and petrol elites. The strategy involves seizing state power,
expelling the Cuban aid missions and breaking all agreements with Cuba.
Prior to this concerted
military strategy, Washington has designed a propaganda campaign against
the Cuban-Venezuelan alliance, Venezuela's attempts to rectify the enormous
military deficit with Colombia by purchasing defensive arms, and raising
the specter of Venezuela's "subversion" of Latin American
regimes. The key to US policy is to prevent Venezuela from joining Cuba
as an alternative social welfare regime to the US neo-liberal clients
in Latin America. US aggression escalates as the agrarian reform expands,
Venezuela prepares self-defense and Chavez diversifies trade and investment
ties. Cuba's powerful support for Venezuela's social welfare programs
has consolidated mass support for the Chavez regime and is a main base
of defense for the radicalization of the process.
As Venezuela confronts
Washington's threats, it consolidates its ties with Cuba. The fate of
the two projects become intertwined and bound together in a single common
anti-imperialist alliance, despite the differences in social systems
and political composition.
Strengths of the Venezuelan-Cuban Alliance
The US "external"
strategy toward Venezuela and its "two step" approach toward
Cuba face powerful limitations.
First of all the
Colombian regime faces a powerful internal opposition: 20,000 veteran
guerrilla fighters and millions of Colombians sympathetic to the agrarian
reform program, independent foreign policy and political freedoms of
the Chavez regime. It is very dangerous for Uribe to start a "two-front
war" which might open the way to attacks on the principle cities
including Bogotá.
The US is heavily
tied down militarily in Iraq and puts a higher priority on war against
Iran/Syria than Venezuela. The US intervention would be limited to air
and sea attacks and Special Forces.
The war would mobilize
millions of Venezuelans in a war of national liberation, defending their
own land homes, neighborhoods, families and friends. Moreover
popular liberation wars radicalize the population and frequently lead
to the confiscation of counter-revolutionary property. A failed invasion
could push Venezuela toward greater socialization of the economy and
eliminate the domestic elite.
Moreover, US economy
and multi-nationals stand to lose a reliable supply of petroleum in
a tight market and billions of dollars in investments weakening
the US position in the global energy market.
An invasion would
likely to lead to a joint military defense pact between Venezuela and
Cuba, which would counter-US policy in the Caribbean. Such an invasion
would also be likely to provoke major unrest and instability throughout
Latin America, threaten US clients and undermining neo-liberal regimes
and policies.
For all these reasons,
Washington's attempts to pursue the external, two step policy toward
Venezuela and Cuba, while extremely dangerous to both countries, could
have a boomerang effect, setting in its wake a new wave of anti-imperialist
struggles throughout the region.
Up to now the escalation
of US diplomatic and economic aggression against Cuba has led to the
greater isolation of the US in Europe and throughout the Third World.
An escalation of military aggression against Venezuela as part of a
"two-step strategy" against Cuba could have even more severe
consequences the expansion of the revolutionary struggle in Colombia
and the rest of Latin America.
James Petras,
a former Professor of Sociology at Binghamton University, New York,
owns a 50 year membership in the class struggle, is an adviser to the
landless and jobless in brazil and argentina and is co-author of Globalization
Unmasked (Zed). He can be reached at: [email protected]