Operation Pliers

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 This article needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2007)

Operation Pliers, also known as Operación Tenaza or Operation Pincers is the name of an alleged U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) plan to incite insurrection following the December 2, 2007 referendum on constitutional changes in Venezuela. According to the Venezuelan government, the plan was discovered in an internal memo uncovered by Venezuelan counter-intelligence operatives on 26 November 2007[unreliable source?] [1]; the text of the memo has been published in Spanish only. The memo purports to be a communication from a CIA officer named Michael Middleton Steere, employed at the US embassy in Caracas, to CIA Director General Michael Hayden in Washington, D.C. It allegedly details measures taken and planned to destabilize Venezuela during and after the referendum. The document is dated November 20.[unreliable source?] [2]

The U.S. has responded by calling the allegations "ridiculous"[1] and "a fake".[2] Independent analysts doubt the authenticity of the document, noting both the lack of an original document in English and that "the timing of its release is strange."[2]

[edit] Reaction

The Venezuelan government threatened to cut off oil supplies to the U.S. if there was violence after the referendum.[3]

The US has called Venezuelan accusations of a CIA conspiracy "ridiculous".[4] According to the International Herald Tribune, Benjamin Ziff, an embassy spokesman said:[5]

“ We reject and are disappointed in the Venezuelan government's allegations that the United States is involved in any type of conspiracy to affect the outcome of the constitutional referendum. ”

A CIA spokesman called the memo "a fake", while independent analysts and researchers doubt its authenticity.[5] Jeremy Bigwood, an independent researcher in Washington, said:[2]

“ I find the document quite suspect. There's not an original version in English, and the timing of its release is strange. Everything about it smells bad. ”

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Chavez urges reform for Venezuela. BBC News, December 1, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-12-03
  2. ^ a b c Romero, Simon. "In Chávez Territory, Signs of Dissent", New York Times, November 30, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-12-01. 
  3. ^ Chavez threatens to stop oil exports to US if poll violence. AFP. Retrieved on 2007-12-07.
  4. ^ "Venezuela waits for reform result", BBC News, December 3, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-12-04. 
  5. ^ a b Romero, Simon. "In Chávez territory, signs of dissent", International Herald Tribune, November 30, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-12-04.