Venezuela expels US diplomats as Hugo Chávez is pronounced dead
March 6, 2013 12 Comments
By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
The government of Venezuela moved yesterday to expel two American diplomats from the country, shortly before officially pronouncing the death of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. The expulsions are seen by some as attempts to curtail communication between United States officials and the Venezuelan opposition in the aftermath of Chávez’s death. In a speech televised live on Venezuelan television on Tuesday, Vice President Nicolás Maduro said US Air Force attaché Colonel David Delmonaco, who was stationed at the American embassy in Venezuelan capital Caracas, would be expelled. “Mr. David Delmonaco has 24 hours to pick up his belongings and leave this country”, said Maduro, who is widely reputed to succeed Chávez. He added that the American attaché had been engaged in efforts “to destabilize the country”, but did not elaborate on the allegation. Shortly afterwards, Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Affairs Elias Jaua told a press conference that a second US Air Force attaché, who remains unnamed, had been declared persona non grata and would be expelled from the country along with Delmonaco. Later on the same day, US government spokesman Colonel Todd Breasseale confirmed the diplomatic expulsions. He told journalists that the US was “aware of the allegations made by Venezuelan Vice President Maduro over state-run television in Caracas”, adding that he was in a position to confirm that “our Air Attache Colonel David Delmonaco, is en route back to the United States”. But the US Department of State said it “completely reject[ed] the Venezuelan government’s claim that the United States is involved in any type of conspiracy to destabilize the Venezuelan government”. Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell called Maduro’s allegations “absurd” and warned Caracas that Washington “has options of reciprocal action available to it under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations”. Later during the same speech, Vice President Maduro repeated an allegation initially made by Chávez himself in 2011 that United States intelligence agencies could be behind the rapid deterioration of his health. Maduro ended his fiercely combative speech by warning “foreign and domestic traitors” that “their day would come” before too long. The US embassy in Caracas said on its website that its consular section would remain closed on March 6.
intelNews.org 
Be interesting to see how this affects the Falkland Oil situation what with the US administration trying to get into bed with Nicolas Maduro, Chevz’ likely successor.
It’ll also be interesting to see what lengths they’ll go to persuade him to support the US interest, especially as Maduro is blaming the US for Chevez’ cancer.
One thing is sure, the US moves and the way they will attempt to drag Venezuala on board will all be at the expense of the UK as they dump large time on us to get their hands on the Falkland Oil reserves.
Make no mistake, UK PLC will be dumped on and the Septics will now be working full time to make that happen.
In this day and age it is not inconceivable that he was given an aggressive cancer which killed him, medical research and projects at military installations have come on so much in the last few years with biological weapons programs that he could have been targeted and it is the perect assassination if thats the case.
Nothing surprises me anymore when it comes to the silent killers who ply their trade from the CIA or one of their subdivisions.
Maduro just want to be popular,I don’t think it has anything to do with the wrong doing on the USA part.He wants to garner support from Chavez supporters to succeed him.Delmonaco is just a scapegoat of Venezuela domestic power struggle.
Isn’t just as likely that Nicolás Maduro had him assassinated at the military hospital in Caracas? Chavez was so sick he could have been smothered with a pillow. If Maduro *did* order the hit on Chavez, wouldn’t it be convenient for him to blame the “assassination on the US?
would like to hear from the cuban doctors that treated him. one thing chaves should have done, is seek treatment at m.d. anderson hospital in houston texas.he’d still be alive today,maybe not totally cured, but alive. and we would know whether there was biological agent involved. autopsy autopsy autopsy
It’s easy to blame the CIA for everything wrong in this world because they are easily responsible for the one half of it. If it can be said the CIA killed Chavez with cancer, it could be said with equal veracity Chavez’ cancer originated with his parading the bones of Simon Bolivar on television, like the curse of King Tut’s tomb.
If there were a CIA method of generating virulent cancers deployed as a weapon of international intrigue, influential people opposed to USA policies would be dropping dead everywhere, like flies.
Oh its a bad look! Maduro looks like a young Sodom Hussein http://edition.cnn.com/2013/01/23/world/americas/venezuela-maduro .
On the other hand he’ll need to grow a beard to become Venezuela’s second pocket Castrro.
Ronald, CIA have a very broad spectrum so may be their links to DARPA or one of the major Labs they are linked to, who are working on viruses, cancers and other common virulent diseases. they are blamed for a lot of the sudden deaths and other more suspicious ones around the world as are the Mossad, but there is a lot of truth in that unfortunately, the best assassins are the ones that makes it look like something else.
Russia’s KGB, its Cold War intelligence allies and its successors have a long history of murdering regime opponents with poison.
In comparison some commenters in this string appear to be saying that while there is no physical evidence of CIA poisoning anyone for decades it just proves how well the CIA covers its tracks.
Meanwhile are you aware that Russia’s FSB (or SVR) killed Alexander (“Sasha”) Litvinenko with Polonium 210 only a few years ago http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/24/AR2006112400410.html ?
No doubt MOSSAD might engage this, but you won’t find it at CIA would be my (well informed) conclusion. The reason is, the CIA is too porous and risk adverse (compared to MOSSAD where they’ve been bit on the butt quite often recently on account of ill advised risk-taking.) On the other hand, where you might find USA centered activities along these lines is cells of American (or American associated) intelligence agency veterans contacted to personalities sitting on powerful corporate boards. Clearing houses for this sort of personality and action would be private corporate intelligence entities, Booz Allen Hamilton example of a larger entity with access to all of the assets you refer to, Berntsen and Associates being example of smaller ‘freelance’ entities that would take on ‘delivery’ roles.
In the case of Chavez, I simply have no sympathy for him, not only doubt the CIA killed him (although someone else may have but I suspect he died of natural causes)
^My immediate preceding directed to carlclark1331
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