Customer Reviews

The Chávez Code: Cracking U.S. Intervention in Venezuela

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Eva Golinger has deciphered the complex web of treachery and deception used by the US government in its relentless effort to destroy the Venezuelan democracy of Hugo Chavez. The book is a must read for anyone wishing to understand US-Venezuelan dynamics, and the war for global oil. Although the Bush administration has attempted to suppress information of its nefarious activities, Golinger has found the smoking gun (in fact, many smoking guns!)

This books shows via US govt documents the plan to assassinate Chavez, in an act of subversion to democracy--an act of terrorism by the U.S. against Venezuela.

There is nothing in this book but wild accusations based on conspiracy theories. I was hoping for a more serious work. Avoid this one.

VenEconomy reviews for the benefit of its readers the new "chavista" best seller titled "The Chávez Code." The book was written by Eva Golinger, a U.S.-Venezuelan dual national whom President Hugo Chávez has personally baptized, "The Bride of the Bolivarian Revolution."

VenEconomy read the book from cover to cover. This included double-checking what Golinger claims in the principal text of the book with the official U.S. documents that she obtained under the FOIA and cited in the book's footnotes. In every case involving a specific quote linked by footnote to a specific U.S. official document in the book's appendix, VenEconomy found that none of the statements she attributes to various U.S. diplomats in the main text of the book are found there. She cites the U.S. documents included at the back of the book in English as the source of these statements. This is odd, considering that Golinger claims that her many professional skills - besides immigration and entertainment industry lawyer, jazz singer and nouveau glitterati of the Bolivarian Revolution - also includes certified translations.

Golinger claims in her biographical description that she obtained "ultra-secret" CIA documents through the FOIA. This is untrue. The CIA documents in question were never even designated as classified documents. They consisted of intra-government security briefings the CIA provides daily to a restricted number of U.S. government officials. The reports are confidential, but they are not secret.

VenEconomy read the documents in the appendix, and then consulted other documents at her web site, and none of the documents substantiate her claim. VenEconomy wants to make it clear that the criticism here centers on apparently sloppy research and unsubstantiated claims not supported by any of the alleged evidence cited by Golinger. In VenEconomy's view, the book overall is disorganized and poorly written, and its supportive documentation doesn't validate any of the claims the author makes about alleged U.S. encouragement and advance knowledge of a coup against Chávez.

That said, in the weeks before the violence of April 11-14, 2002, the persons who most frequently claimed that a military coup was imminent were Chávez and then-Defense Minister (now Vice President) Jose Vicente Rangel. This is a matter of public record.

Golinger claims on page 103 that the CIA had "detailed knowledge" about the coup against Chávez that could only mean the CIA was in close direct contact with the conspirators. However, the CIA documents she cites are not any different in content than the reports that were being published and broadcast daily during those tense days in April 2002 by the Venezuelan news media. The CIA reports do not claim to know more about the alleged coup against Chávez than what was in the news media locally at the time.

Golinger cites former CNN correspondent Otto Neustadt's alleged claim that on April 10, one day before the march against Chávez ended in death by gunfire in downtown Caracas, he was approached by a group of generals and admirals that wanted to pre-tape a message to be shown on April 11 after people had been killed and injured. Neustadt lost credibility. He was sacked by CNN soon after the events of April 2002 because unedited videotape he transmitted to CNN's world broadcast center in Atlanta contained outtakes that showed the CNN reporter had a close personal relationship with then-Vice President Diosdado Cabello. CNN's management concluded that Neustadt was compromised professionally and they terminated his employment contract.

"The Chávez Code" doesn't stop at the events of April 2002. It includes chapters on the oil strike of December 2002-January 2003, and the August 2004 presidential recall referendum. VenEconomy found many more inaccuracies in these chapters, but did not want to deprive others of the chance to make their own discoveries as they read this Bolivarian best seller. Besides, this book review is already too long.

VenEconomy Staff

http://daniel-venezuela.blogspot.com/2005/06/chavez-code-and-evas-deceits.html