Venezuela is being targeted by Washington’s ‘triangle strategy’

Small pockets of Venezuela have been ravaged with the most violent actions the country has ever seen in its two-century history. Violent Opposition groups, OAS secretary-general Luis Almagro and the mainstream mass media have been recruited by the United States to implement a triangle strategy in order to topple the government in Caracas. One corner creates enough internal chaos and deaths to create a sense of failed state, the other corner rallies all the pro-US governments in the region under the “legitimacy” of the OAS and the top corner spreads a propaganda campaign so fierce that it will literally make any foreign intervention justifiable and desired.

As the “triangle strategy” came to its peak in mid-May, lying to the world that the police and National Guard, armed only with gas canisters and water cannons, were apparently “murdering people” in the hundreds, regional governments were pushing for an OAS sanction to justify foreign intervention. But the lies and fabricated narrative became too difficult and complex to maintain and the Opposition’s international support faded away. The majority of violent deaths were proven to be at the hands of infiltrated mercenaries paid to generate fake encounters, the ferocity and timing of the strikes on hospitals, schools and food distribution centres reveals these aren’t angry citizens protesting against the government, but paramilitary elements paid off with the objective of creating chaos.

But why does the US want to subvert the natural constitutional order in Venezuela? In 2002, late President Hugo Chavez put into effect the constitutional guidelines that require joint oil ventures in Venezuela to have majority state ownership. This allowed a better distribution of revenues for the national objectives and interests. This simple phrase has much more implications and ramifications than these few words convey.

This permitted Venezuela to top all social indicator charts in the region. Second place in the UNDP development index, least unequal country in the Americas, reduction of poverty in over 50 points and a booming economy were some of the great success stories the Bolivarian Revolution boasts of internally. On the international stage, Venezuela became an active player in Latin American and Caribbean integration, creating regional and sub-regional mechanisms to strengthen the Latin American and Caribbean positions internationally. In the United Nations, we have been protagonist members at the UN Human Rights Council, Economic and Social Council and Security Council, where we always raised our voice in support of India’s legitimate aspiration for a permanent seat.

But as said before, the introductory phrase has ramifications. Several multinational oil companies now closely linked to world powers resented Venezuela’s nationalist policies. They provoked a shortlived coup d’etat in 2002 and have funded and exacerbated the actions of local Opposition political elements, pushing them to act in the most unbelievably violent and unpatriotic ways imaginable. In what other country in the world is a publicly-elected figure allowed to go overseas and discuss intervention plans with top military generals of other countries?

The success story of Venezuela was facing setbacks as the US was slowly gaining terrain in the region. On one side American fracking companies made oil prices crash and US-funded “democracy advocacy” programmes where helping US-friendly candidates gain political power in different countries in the Americas. The game plan was set: to strangle Venezuela economically and remove all potential allies from the board.

But as Venezuela was on its way to economic recovery in April 2017, the Opposition and their permanent representative in the OAS, secretary-general Luis Almagro, decided that one more year until the presidential elections was too much. The applied triangle strategy managed to have a shortlived effect. The truth reached the world’s public and the strategy has been unveiled.

The nail in the fabricated narrative’s coffin was the proposal by President Maduro to call a National Constituent Assembly on May Day. This call took the Opposition leaders by surprise, showing the world their distaste for democracy, and taking the political and media winds out of their sails.

Their latest defeat, the illegal foreign ministers’ meeting of the OAS, ended with their proposed declaration of sanctions being rejected by the majority of American countries, who just want peace and dialogue to prevail under a democratic order. These governments know free, universal and secret elections are the key to a stable democracy. In 18 years of government, 20 polls recognised by independent observers proved the democratic nature of both President Chavez and President Maduro.

The battle for Venezuela is, however, not yet over. Venezuela is still under direct attack, the scheme is clear and the objective big as the sun: control of Venezuela’s nationalised oil reserves through violent change, using all the weapons in the arsenal like violence, sabotage and propaganda. The Opposition will most likely follow their suicidal strategy to the end, boycotting elections and calling for more violence, but with international support shown recently for Venezuela, we are confident that this new challenge will be faced successfully.

The writer is the ambassador of Venezuela in New Delhi